


Shade Slipstream

by AzraelOverlord



Series: Shade Slipstream [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-22 13:13:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 42,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13764921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzraelOverlord/pseuds/AzraelOverlord
Summary: Blue void, he thought for what seemed like the thousand time since he got trapped. Here where even time doesn't seem to exist.Millions of scenes, thoughts, yells, laughs, screams hit him all at once.One moment he is skydiving with his girlfriend, next, he is in some building with a round logo on its walls talking to a gorillaandhe talks back. Then he is in the middle of a battlefield gunning down Bastion units or sipping tea with a funny looking Mexican girl.For a while there was one constant, a girl, maybe a year or two younger than him also lost in this timeless space and apart from that one time, always smiling, full of life. Now, even she is gone.





	1. Helping hand?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's been bothering Lena... rest of the team seem clueless...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Start of my first fanfic.

''Hm! Blind gits...'' Lena grunted under her breath while finishing her lunch with the rest of the team in Watchpoints cafeteria, mood all cheery and relaxed after an easy success on their mission in Numbani.  


''What was that?'' Winston, who was sitting next to her responded, looking down on his friend,  


''Meh, 's nothing big guy.'' Lena tries to wave him off, ''Just venting a bit...''   


''Okay. But if something is bothering you, let me know. You know I'm always here for you.'' Winston said, putting one of his big hands on his clearly a bit under the weather feeling friend shoulder.  


'''S just not fair luv, here we are, sitting, safely, eating lunch...'' Well might as well let the cat out of the bag, Lena thought before continuing, ''And taking credit when we didn' earn it.'' Finishing she gave a look that was a mix of anger and disappointment to her big friend.  


''What do you mean by that? Unearned credit?'' Winston was thrown off by Lena's words.  


''C'mon big guy, you too? Seriously? I'm the only one that noticed it?'' Lena's face was now fully in the disappointment department.  


''Noticed what exactly?'' He responded with a question, clearly not clued in on whatever Lena was trying to say.  


''Take today's mission for example...'' She started, checking if Winston paid full attention, ''I could practically feel Akandes gauntlet on my back. He was ready to rip the back of this...'' She points to her chronal accelerator, ''... right off me, sending me back to that blue hell.'' She shivered at the mere thought of being sent back into that, ''But at that exact moment, it powered off and even fell right off his arm.'' She finished, looking up to Winston, waiting for his response.  


''Spot of good luck, it might have malfunctioned?'' Winston made his best guess.  


''Really? That's the best you got? You really think a man with Akande's wits would let somethin' like that to happen to his weapon? And do you recall any time that gauntlet malfunctioned in its entire history of usage?'' Lena felt a spot of anger coming up and it could be heard in her voice.  


''No I do not. Am I to assume you have an idea what happened?'' Winston conceded to her point, prompting her to explain further.  


''I do, but I would like everyone to listen in, because if I'm right, we might have a very powerful ally or if we mess things up a devastating enemy on our hands.'' She answered, calming down a bit. Yeah, that should describe whoever it was pretty good, she thought while Winston stood up and cleared his throat, to get everyone's attention.  


''Listen up while you eat. Lena has something to tell us all, so I would need all of you to come to my lab once we finish our lunches.'' He tells them, getting nods of agreement from all of them.  


''Lena are you getting married to that redhead of yours?'' Hana chirped, trying to joke, but it was not the right time.  


''No. And lay off, I'm not in the mood for your jokes right now.'' Lena almost snarled back, her previous anger coming back with interest. ''Aaaah... fuck, now I lost my appetite.'' She threw down her utensils, picked up the tray and stormed off to the kitchen to dump the remains into the bin. And left the room, not wanting to release the brewing storm on her friends.  


''Wow, this must be serious if someone like Lena got so moody over it.'' Jesse commented.  


''I noticed for a few times now, after the missions, that she was a bit off but she was always back to her old self when I saw her next, so I didn't give it another thought.'' Angela added.  


''Hm... curious.'' Winston finished that line of comments, rubbing his chin, deep in thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is our stranger? Do we find out in the next chapter?
> 
> Will try for a weekly upload, no promises.
> 
> Teaser for chapter 2:  
> \----''Hold on a sec!'', Jesse almost shouted, ''Athena, 3rd screen from the top, left to right, enlarge it please.'', his sharp eyes picked something up,----
> 
> Just what did Jesse see? Find out in the next chapter.


	2. 2nd victim of Slipstream?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena lets the team know what she found...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, 2nd chapter... and a little teaser for the 3rd... hope you guys like it... let me know in the comments.

''Okay Lena, we are ready.'' Winston announced when the team gathered and sat or stood in a semi-circle in his lab, all eyes on Lena. 

''M'kay. First, even I don't know this for sure. But, what I _am_ sure of, is that on these last few mission we were getting help from someone. Situations that should go completely down the drain got solved into our favor. There were situations that should end in some of us ending up dead or badly injured, but we always pulled out fine as kites.'' She paused to look around and most got the C'mon, seriously? faces on.  
''I only noticed because after feeling something was off I did some digging and reviewed footage from our missions probably a million times. Why? Because, after Widow threw me off the roof in King's Row, I should hit a brick wall, at least damaging this thing.'' She points to her anchor. ''But no, I hit something soft, something that buffered that hit and also heard, no.'' She shakes her head before continuing. ''More like felt metal hitting metal where there should be metal hitting brick.'' After finishing she looks upwards. ''Athena, please bring up the Mondattas death footage up. I marked a few places where I want you to stop.'' Multiple screens popped up. Showing different angles of the scene and Lena can be clearly seen fighting Widow on some, while others showed the crowd and a security cordon around Mondatta, ushering him towards a vehicle that was supposed to take him to safety. They all pause at different times. Lena waited until they were all still before continuing. ''Well, there is a reason they are stopped like that, can someone, anyone tell what can you see?'' 

''Well, there nothing obviously similar to any of these.'' Winston scanned the screens. ''But...'' Looking for something that was clearly feeling off, but still couldn't put his finger on. 

''Hold on a sec!'' Jesse almost shouted. ''Athena, 3rd screen from the top, left to right. Enlarge it please.'' His sharp eyes picked something up. ''There!'' He pointed out a man with a strong build. ''In the crowd, you can barely see him, but there is something on his chest, something similar to Lenas.'' He was wearing long dark coat with a black hood that was pulled over his head and was wearing a black baseball cap. Blocking the camera's view of his face. 

''Finally.'' Lena exhaled. ''I wasn't sure if he was real or just Slipstream messing with me. Thanks, luv!'' She smiled at Jesse, who nodded. ''You're welcome darlin'.''  
''And he is there every single time. Mostly just as a red blur, or what I believe is some sort of Reapers wraithing. But it's different enough that I could tell the two apart.'' Lena continued. 

''What?'' Soldier asked everything that was being said finally clicking in. ''Are you telling us that this guy has your ability to blink and Reapers wraith on top of it?'' The mood got serious in a second after that. 

''Yes.'' Lena nods in response. ''And he is way faster then I am and can go toe to toe with Reaper with ease. Athena, bring up that footage of Oasis mission I marked.'' The screen changed to a scene of Oasis skyscrapers, showing a black plume of smoke running up one of them. It was filmed from an angle that could only be Lenas. ''He, whoever he is, took Reaper off my back just as he was about to empty his shotgun into it and that...'' She pointed with her hand towards the screen. ''Is what followed.'' A large window on the skyscraper broke with a crater-like shape. And Reaper was in the middle of it, leaning out, falling, clearly unconscious, his lights knocked out by someone. But Widow soon swung in on her hook and caught him, carrying both to safety. 

''Why not finish him? He clearly could.'' Genji asks. 

''Is what bothers me too.'' Fareeha added. 

''Don't know. But he never does. He saves our butts, knocks 'em out. Then buggers off to who knows where before we realize what even happened. Well...'' Lena remembered something. ''Athena, please bring up Egypt and the Helix mission on Anubis please.'' Lena started, but is interrupted. 

''What!?!'' Fareeha roared, bewildered. 

''Thought that might surprise you, sorry luv.'' Lena looked apologetically at her shocked friend. 

''Sorry, it's still very fresh for me. Even after all this time.'' The egyptian apologized for her outburst. 

'''s okay. Anyway, take a look at the left side of that pass...'' A camera on one of the Fareeha's teammate's armor showed a long row of pillars and hostile omnics were pouring out of the gates at the far end. There he was. A man in similar clothing that those in Rows, just standing there in plain sight. His black coat clearly sticking out, but no one is noticing him. 

''Curious. How is he doing that?'' Winston voiced everyone's thoughts. 

''Yeah, how is he standing there. Yet no one seems to see him.'' Lucio added. 

''Because this is a paused frame...'' Lena answers them. ''Look what happens in the next frame. Just a single frame after, mind you.'' The picture moves forward in time by a single frame and he is gone without a trace. ''Play the footage, Athena. Guys, keep an eye on that big group of omnics over there.'' Lena adds and points in a circular motion to a particularly large group of assault omnics that seem bend to make that day a living hell for Fareeha and her team, or at least they should. 

''Wow!'' Was a collective reaction from all but Lena, when omnics got torn apart. With no clear sign of an assailant, their sensors confused, their heads on a swivel, unable to lock on anything. 

''I never noticed that. It would make that operation a failure.'' Fareeha commented. ''With all that additional firepower and sheer numbers, they would've taken all of us apart in seconds.'' She grimly added. 

''And he does that all the time. Picks the most pivoting moment in battle and turns it into our favor...'' Lena adds. ''Either that or he saves one of our butts. Hana...'' She focuses her sight on the korean ace. ''Remember that time when one of Talons grunts got a lucky shot off on your mech and you had to bail out when we raided one of their bases?'' 

''Yeah. And another had a clean shot at me with his rifle but before he could pull the trigger his head came clean off. Brrrr. Gross.'' The MEKA pilot shakes as her mind recalls the blood spurting from the man's neck. 

''Yeah, nasty. But none of us was anywhere near him at the time. Caps rifle doesn't do that kind of damage, neither does Fareehas rocket launcher.'' Lena responds. 

''Yes.'' The elder Amari nods. ''My rifle would just put a small hole in it. Fareehas rocket would blow him up entirely.''

''Look, guys, there's a ton of such footage where enemies get demolished, our asses mysteriously saved, moments, where everything should go to shits, are suddenly turned around. But I'm sure that only from this little bit, you can see, we can't take the whole credit for our recent string of successes.'' Lena finished and there were nods in the whole room. 

''Damn, how do we find this guy?'' Soldier asked once things got settled a bit. 

''It would not do us well to make him our enemy.'' Hanzo spoke for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just who is this guy? And why is he helping Overwatch team?
> 
> Little teaser for chapter 3:  
> \----''Everyone calm down...'' Winston starts, waving his massive hand in up and down motion. ''No need to panic. From what we can see, he is no threat to us. Lena...'' He turns to his small friend with a reassuring smile. ''You call the shots on this one.''----
> 
> Why is Winston trying to calm everyone down? And what is Lena calling shots for?  
> Find out in the next chapter, done and ready but will be uploaded next week.


	3. Emilys guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily has a guest stopping by for a tea. When she calls Lena about him, things get serious very fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't really know what to say here, except maybe that the story is going strong and some side stories are being written as well.
> 
> The scene directly follows the one from the previous chapter.

*Drrrr.* ''One sec...'' Lena stopped that line of questioning. Pulling out her phone, she retreats to the back where she couldn't be heard. ''Hey luv, I'm working. Is this important?'' She answered the call from her girlfriend back in their apartment. 

''Well, there is this gentleman sitting across from me and insists on meeting you.'' Emily responds. 

''Tell him I'll be back in a week and we can talk then. Something came up.'' Some voices were heard from Emily's side of the line. 

''Hm...'' Emily pauses for a second. ''Sweet, you sure about that? He said he doesn't mind waiting, but he is somewhat special, quite similar to you in one aspect.'' Lena's eyes go wide when things click in. 

''Tell him I'm on my way right now.'' A bit of urgency leaks out of her voice. 

''Hey pet, is everything okay? You are scaring me a bit.'' 

''Not really. But I think you might be either the safest or in most danger in the world right now.'' Lena is honest with her loved one. 

''Is he dangerous? He was a perfect picture of a gentleman so far.'' 

''Extremely. But he always worked in our favor, so that makes me think you should be okay. Anyway, I'm off, see you soon.'' 

''Okay sweet, see ya.'' Lena closes her phone and half runs back to others. 

''Is something wrong Lena?'' Winston asks when he sees she is in a rush. 

''Yes... No... Maybe, I don't know. Thing is, he...'' She points to the footage playing on the screen. ''Is at my apartment with Emily right now.'' That causes everyone to jump to their feet. 

''Everyone calm down...'' Winston starts, waving his massive hand in up and down motion. ''No need to panic. From what we can see, he is no threat to us. Lena...'' He turns to his small friend with a reassuring smile. ''You call the shots on this one.'' 

''Yea'...mhm... okay. Angie, Cap, and Fareeha are coming with me, but Cap and Fareeha will stay back, while me and Angie go up to my apartment.'' Lena quickly throws together a plan in her mind. 

''Hm, small group but everything is covered.'' Soldier nods in agreement. 

''Okay.'' Winstons also nods. ''Rest of us will hold down the fort then. Good luck Lena.'' And reaches out and places a hand on Lena's shoulder. 

''Thanks, big guy. Will let you know how it went as soon as I can.''

Small Orca landed on an empty plot not too far from Lenas home and the party was on. Pharah took to the skies. Ana also quickly found a good high ground, from where she can cover Tracers home, while she and Mercy made their way there. Tracer with a bit of an urge in her step, halfway ran up the stairs to her apartments door, Mercy close behind. 

Doors opened, ''Cheers luv...'' She started to greet Emily. 

''The cavalry is here.'' But a male voice finishes her phrase. 

''Hello.'' Mercy also greets them both. 

''Doc...'' He nods, then continues. ''You can tell Pharah and Ana that they can relax. I'm not here to cause any trouble. That, I promise you.'' He finishes. 

''While it bothers me as to how you know who is with me beside Doc. All points towards that bein' the case.'' Tracer responds. ''Okay, lets hit the big thing.'' She starts anew but pauses. And when the man nods, ''Why are you here and why do you want to talk to me? I mean why now? You clearly had plenty of chances out there.'' 

''Hehe, you're right.'' He chuckles. ''But as you probably noticed, we share something very unique to just you...'' He points at Tracer with his gloved hand. ''And me.'' Then at himself. And using the other hand, he pulls away his coat a bit, exposing a red glowing disc that carries a striking resemblance to Tracers blue one. ''That's why I decided to contact you first. I hoped you could help me break the ice with the rest of them.'' He finishes, pulling the coat back. 

''So that's real? How? I thought, no. Everyone thought I was the only one. How is it even possible?'' Tracer starts, the sheer magnitude of what is being told here hitting her like a freight train. 

''May I try something? It would help me explain. I am unarmed.'' He slowly stands up, holding his hands up. Showing everyone present and those watching from afar that he has nothing in them. 

''Mmm...'' Tracer thinks for a moment. ''Sure, I guess.'' Then nods when she agrees. 

''Great. Now would you please sit down on the floor. Knees to your chest and hug them with your arms. Oh, and close your eyes please Lena.'' The man says, everyone, giving him odd looks because he used her name and not her callsign if his strange request wasn't enough. ''Everything will be clear in a second, at least for you, little one...''. He lowers his sight to look at her as he is basically more than a full head taller then Tracer. ''Others might need a bit more explaining.'' He tries to reassure them. 

''Okay...'' Tracer does as he asked. ''Like this?'' She asks, once in a position he asked of her.

''Perfect.'' He nods. ''I will now put my hand on your shoulder from the back. Don't get scared, but I want you to look up at me when you feel it.'' He says walking behind Tracer but ensures Mercy and Ana can have a clear sight of him and everything he does. 

He does as he said and so does Tracer. Her eyes go wide and start tearing up, ''It-it-it was you...'' She barely manages to say that before she jumps up and hugs him and start to cry loudly. ''Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!'' Is all Tracer gets out between her sobs. The man she is hugging, hugs her back, gently rubbing her back, smiling in knowing she realized who he was. 

Once Tracer calms down and they sit down around the table in the living room and Emily served some coffee and tea. ''I still can't believe it. I thought it was only in my mind, that it played tricks on me just to keep me sane in there.'' Tracer starts, but is interrupted by Mercy. 

''Reel it back a little there. I still don't know what's going on.'' She asks, sight moving from Tracer to the man. ''And what can we call you? You don't expect us to call you Man for the foreseeable future.'' 

''Apology, my memory got somewhat screwed in the Slipstream so I don't know my real name, but I was given a name Shade.'', Shade answers Mercy. 

''Given? By whom?'' she shoots right back. 

''You won't like the answer to that.'' Shade lowers his head, looking at the opened palms of his, now gloveless hands. 

''How bad is it?'' Tracer joins. 

''Pretty bad. It's was Moira O'Deorain.'' That shocks Mercy and Tracer. 

''You work for her?!?!'' Mercy almost yells that. 

''No'' Shade shakes his still lowered head. ''I left as soon as I could.'' Then looks at Mercy dead in her eyes and she can read pain, sorrow, and regret in those dark eyes. 

''I apologize for yelling, but with our history...'' 

Shade stops her with a raised hand. ''Nothing to apologize for. We didn't part on best of terms either. But she is the one that pulled me out of the Slipstream and kept my mind my own, despite others in Talon insisting to turn me into something more akin to Widowmaker, so I owe her a big one for that too.'' Shade explains a bit of his history. 

''Not on best of terms meaning?'' Tracers curiosity gets ahead of her brain, which she regrets in the next instant, hanging her head. 

''Hahaha.'' Shade laughs at her reaction. ''Let's just say she was short an arm and half a leg when I left and leave it at that.'' 

''Wow.'' She exhales, knowing that Moira is no one to sneeze at in a fight. ''Yeah, sure. Back to explaining my tears earlier?'' Then changes the topic. 

''Please.'' Mercy says. 

''I would like to know what was that all about, too.'' Emily decides to chime in as well. 

''Well, at one time when I was still trapped in Slipstream I got pretty down, and lost all hope...'' Tracers voice gets low at the end of that. ''Just when I thought that that was it, I'm stuck there for good, this man does the exact same thing he did earlier. But he also pointed at a scene that Slipstream was showing us. A scene where you, Angie, and Winston were working your arse off on getting me back. And when I turned back to look at him, he just nodded and smiled. Gosh, I'm so sorry Shade, I really thought my mind was playing tricks on me.'' Tracer looked at Shade when she was done, tears welling in her eyes a bit. 

''It's okay little one.'' He smiles gently. ''For all you knew it was impossible for another person to be trapped in there with you.'' Then reached over and scruffed Tracers hair for a bit, getting a small chuckle out of her. 

''Yes.'' She nods. And whipping her eyes clear of tears, she asks one of the big ones, ''About that, how?''

''Skydiving.'' Is all Shade says in response. 

''Skydiving?'' The trio of ladies asks in unison. 

''Yep, me and a buddy of mine were skydiving in that same area, practicing a HALO jump. And while she noticed your plane and popped open her flight suit so it slowed her down, I was too tunnel-visioned. So I only noticed it when I saw you in the cockpit a mere foot away from me, all kinds of lights flashing red. Would probably die plastered on your canopy if at that moment everything didn't go blue, then black, then back to blue. Anything else before that I can't remember, but I found out that seeing, hearing or doing certain things brings 'em back.'', Shade finishes explaining. 

''Yes, that is sometimes the case...'', Mercy nods, falling back on her medical knowledge, ''The information is there, but due to different causes, both good or bad, our mind decided to, at least temporarily, cut the connections to them. Some recover everything, some nothing.'' 

''Well, so where do we go from here? You coming with us back to Gibraltar?'' Tracer asks Shade. 

''Not if I'm put in a prison cell. Otherwise, that was my general idea.'' 

''I promise I won't let 'em and 'm sure Angie will back me up.'' 

''I will, yes. You are clearly no threat. But I must insist that I give you a full medical exam, first thing we get there.'' Mercy nodded and smiled to Shade. 

''Well then, this might come in handy, Doc...'' He hands Mercy a data chip. ''There should be everything Moira did to me on that and even some of her other research.'' Then stands up and turns to his host. ''Emily, thank you for your hospitality, I hope we can become friends in the future.'' He offers her a handshake. 

''We already are...'' She instead hugs him. ''I think a thank you for looking out for Lena in there is due too.'' 

He hugs her back. ''Hehe, you're welcome, but from what I can see, you...'' Clearly, there are well build muscles beneath Emily's clothes, so she could be a soldier too. 

''Shhhh...'' she whispers in Shades ear, careful so that Lena can't hear her. ''I still haven't told her.'' 

''Ah, I see...'' Shade whispers back. ''Then I shall stop by for some more of your lovely tea.'' To throw off the little one he says that part out loud when they part. 

''Please do.'' Emily plays along. 

''Heeey, where's my hug?'' Tracer mocks pouting. 

''Com'ere you!'' Shade hugs her, knowing perfectly well that she meant Emily. ''Not you....'' Tracer keeps up her play. 

''Oh 's that so? Fine.'' Turning towards the door that leads out of the apartment, ''Doctor, shall we then? Tracer here clearly doesn't want our company anymore.'' Winking to Mercy, Shade offers her an arm lock. 

''Yes, it would appear we are in the way now.'' Taking Shade on his offer they start to walk towards the door. A mere second later Tracers blinks at them and hugs 'em. 

''I didn't mean it like that.'' Sounding almost sad she gives the pair she is hugging from behind a dose of her puppy eyes. 

''Awww, can you find it in your heart to forgive this pup her transgression, Doctor Ziegler?'' Shade starts with a mocking dignity in his tone. 

''I believe I can, Mister Shade.'' Mercy plays along and they turn around and hug Tracer back. ''Now shoo, go say goodbye to your girl. We will wait outside.'' Mercy tells her after they part a moment later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we put the name to the face but huuuuu what a face it is. But there seems to be more to him than meets the eye.
> 
> A sneak peek into chapter 4:  
> \-----The would-be killer, sees she has been found and tries to run away, ''Widow!'' Shade yells still closing in, but he is on top of her in the next moment, grabbing the woman's waist and wrist and slams her into the ground, effectively immobilizing her,-----
> 
> Widowmaker too? Of course, no OW fanfic involving Lena is complete without her... but is it really her? Find out in the next chapter.


	4. Pharahs past sins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercy escorts Shade outside, but things turn for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double upload? Yeah, because this chapter is a short one.

''Wait for a second Shade.'' Mercy tells him, just as they were about to exit the building.

''Huh? Oh, right.'' Shade, confused at first but figures it out when Mercy reaches for her com device. 

''Ana, Pharah. Mercy here. Coming out with our new friend. All is clear.'' She reports the situation to the two Amaris, and they exit the building. 

''Copy that. I will head back to start the Orca.'' Ana responds first. 

''Roger, will be there with you in a second.'' Pharah starts. '' WHA----AAAAAAAAA!!!!'' Then yells in surprise, and a loud boom can be heard. The boosters on her back are all but blown off. 

''PHARAH!!!'' Mercy shouts at the top of her lungs. Both she and Shade turn upwards to see Pharah falling from the sky. Black smoke from her boosters trailing behind. 

''I got her!'' Shade not wasting a second, springs to action. Halfway wraiths and half blinks towards the egyptian. He has her safely in his arms, if still in mid-air, under a second. ''This might feel a bit weird.'' He says to the woman in his arms, that is visibly shocked but manages to nod. Shade then turns around and blinks back next to Mercy and gently lowers Pharah next to her. It seems like armor did its job, but a quick field check-up never harmed anyone. 

''Pharah...'' Mercy starts, with a gentle, calming tone in her voice. ''Can you hear me?'' 

''Yes Mercy, I'm here. My back hurts a bit, but I don't think anything is broken. You...'' She turns to face Shade. ''Thank you.'' 

''Think nothing of it. If anything...'' He starts. ''The world could always use more heroes. Not this time.'' Tracer blinked next to them, and finished her own phrase, giving a wink to Shade, before starting to scan the surroundings for what could do this to her flying friend. 

''Mercy, is she all right?'' Ana sounds from the coms. 

''Yes. I did a quick scan. Nothing appears broken, no internal damages too. Armor took the blow for her.'' 

''Got her!'' Shade says, his sight locking on something up on the rooftops and a moment later he is wraithing upwards to catch her. 

Tracer wants to follow, but Mercy stops her. ''Nein, let him. You just might make things more difficult for him as he is used to operating alone.'' 

''Heh, and he is already halfway there...'' Tracer concedes to her point. 

The would-be killer sees she has been found and tries to run away. ''Widow!'' Shade yells still closing in, but he is on top of her in the next moment, grabbing the woman's waist and wrist and slams her into the ground, effectively immobilizing her. ''You are not her!!!'' Shade snarls, when the blue/purple paint slides off from where he grabbed her, revealing the normal skin tone beneath. 

''No...'' The woman tries to respond, but the pressure on her back is only allowing her to take shallow breaths. ''Talon?!'' Shade snarls. The immobilized woman shakes her head. ''Then who and why?'' Securing her with a couple of zip ties he had in his pockets, he set the woman in a sitting position, leaning to an A/C machine. 

''Just me...'' She starts, starting to wipe her face with her tied hands, revealing a bit darker skin that is closer to Pharahs then to Tracers. ''If I say Helix, Anubis, will that do?'' She finishes, hanging her head, but keeps eye contact. 

''Let me try. Widow. Your husband killed in that op. You blame her for it?'' Shade responds, lowering himself to his knee. 

''Got it in one.'' She responds and tears start to well up, the memory of her loss still very fresh in her mind. 

''Why Widow getup?'' He offers her the handkerchief he keeps on his person, 

''Thank you. No reason in particular, just...'' She wipes away her tears. ''The name.'' Doing so, she reveals more of her, quite beautiful face, one may add, as the blue face paint comes off even further. 

''Mhm.'' Shade nods. ''Then I want you to do something and I guarantee it, you walk away no harm done.'' He quickly thinks of a plan that is a win-win for everyone involved and his captive looks up. ''We both go back to where Mercy is tending to Pharah. You apologize, give her your contact info so you can talk this out like adults and she will give you any detail you wish. From her perspective, apart from classified parts. I was there too, so please accept my apology for your loss too.'' Shade bows his head to the tied up woman. 

''I-I-I will do as you ask.'' Surprised by his gesture, she stutters for a moment. 

''Okay then, shall we...'' Putting her strange weapon on his shoulder, he cradles the woman in a similar way he did Pharah and giving her the same warning, he blinks to the group. Pharah was on her feet, Mercy busy with a more in-depth scan, Tracer checking the damage on the Raptora. 

''Hi guys.'' He greets them with a disarming grin on his face when he is next to them. 

Pharah, immediately recognizing the woman in his arms, kneels on one leg. A gesture that surprises both Mercy and Tracer. ''I am sorry for your loss... I... I...'' She trails off, Shade lowers the woman to the ground next to the kneeling flyer, still tied. 

''She agreed to you two talking about things like grown adults, but I guaranteed her that she walks away from this, free as a bird, seeing how no permanent damage was done.'' Mercy scowls a bit when Shade says that, but nods in agreement. 

''Miss Khalil...'', Pharah starts, finally revealing who the woman is. ''I shall do the same, guarantee your freedom that is.'' She puts one of her armored arms on woman's shoulder, small chuckle escapes, when she finally takes the woman's getup in. ''I am sorry, but you wear it better then you should.'' She smiles, cutting the zippers on her arms and legs and offers help to get her on her feet. 

''Hah, I thought I might be overdoing it. But when this one practically shouted 'Widow' while charging at me...'' She points at Shade. ''I realized I did a good job.'' Mood cheering up a bit, they start to chatter while heading to the parked Orca. Mrs. Khalil agreeing to come with them to Gibraltar to fully clear things up with Pharah, promising she won't ever do something like that again. That was supported by both Amaris as they knew her and her husband well and they soon reached the transport, settled in and took off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Khalil refers to Pharas captain in Mission statement comic published by Blizzard. Check it out if you haven't already. There are a few others too.
> 
> As always, a sneak peek into chapter 5:  
> \-----''I thought this might keep things more welcoming.'' Winston answers. 
> 
> ''Yes. And we were here already.'' Rein adds. 
> 
> ''We?'' Shades asked. 
> 
> ''Yea, look there...''-----
> 
> Who is Lena pointing at? Who is there beside Winston and Reinhardt? Not really difficult to make a good guess, but how will she relate to the story? Read all about it in the next chapter. Ta!


	5. Return of the fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade gets another piece of his memory back, Lena sees something beautiful but Winston stays realistic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys, you probably noticed by now that I'm really not a native english speaker so even after I run these chapters through a little checking program I found on the web, mistakes stay. 
> 
> Can't say much is happening story-wise, as these chapters are somewhat short, but I can tell you they are only getting longer. More characters involved, some you will see coming, others might hit you like lightning from a clear sky.
> 
> Anyway, if you like it, kudos, if you got anything to say, comments. I check them on daily basis and will try to respond to every single one. Enjoy the show. More is coming.

''Winston, Orca from London on approach. Should I notify someone else?'' Athena chims from the speakers. 

''Not for now. We may shock our guest if we all gang up on him. But once they land, do so, please. I'm heading to hangar now.'' The gorilla responds, gets up from his seat, dons some of his armor, ''Just to be safe.'' He mutters to himself and makes his way to the hangar to greet this curious friend. When he reaches the hangar he is greeted by the german and his mechanic working on his big suit and the massive hammer he wields in battle. 

''Hello Winston, what brings you down here?'' Reinhardt asks, taking note of the armor Winston is wearing. 

''Hello to you too.'' He nods in greeting. ''The Orca from London is on its final approach and I decided to greet our guest personally, this...'' He points to the armor, ''... is just in case.'' 

''Ah yes, I understand. Shall I armor up as well?'' The big man offers. 

''I don't think there's need for that, but keep your hammer in arms reach anyway.'' Winston, still a bit wary of the unknown man, suggests. 

''Then I shall do so.'' Rein answers and Brigitte lets out a small huff, ''Men and their weapons.'' 

Soon after, hangar doors open, and the Orca lands gently just outside of it, back turned towards the waiting trio. The ramp starts to lower and first, they spot Pharah, out of her suit, Mercy next to her, still checking her up and Ana follows with another elderly woman that changed out of her Widow getup and is wearing some Overwatch clothes, blue paint now fully washed away and they all head to Medical. Tracer blinks on top of the ramp from her seat in the cockpit, but doesn't move from there. 

''Heya big guy, Rein and Brigitte.'' She waves to them to come closer and Winston and Rein start to approach when Shade walks next to Tracer. 

''Hello all. Expected more of you with guns at the ready, considering what I am capable of, to be honest.'' Brigitte stiffens when she hears his voice. 

''I thought this might keep things more welcoming.'' Winston answers. 

''Yes, and we were here already.'' Rein adds. 

''We?'' Shades asks. 

''Yea, look there...'' Tracer points to Brigitte, standing frozen in place, eyes wide. 

''Who...'' Shade starts but stops the next second. Looking at Brigitte, another memory triggers in his head. Brigitte's hands cover her mouth, tears start flowing down her cheeks, and she starts falling to her knees. 

''I got you. I got you!'' Shade blinks from the ramp, catching the mechanic, hugging her tightly. 

''I tho-I thought-I thought you were gone!'' Brigitte sobs loudly into Shades shoulder. Winston and Reinhardt turn to face the duo, Tracer now standing next to them. 

''This might need some explaining if you don't mind.'' Winston says, after staying quiet for a minute to give them some space and time for Brigitte to calm down. 

''Not one bit...'' Shade starts arm still around Brigitte's shoulder, ''Lena will get clued in soon, but I'll explain in detail for the rest. But first...'' He turns to face the mechanic, ''To tell you that my memory is all messed up. I only remembered you when I saw you just now.'' Wiping one last tear from her face he explains, she nods in acknowledgment. 

''Slipstream.'' He says first when he sees Winston giving him a questioning look. ''Also caused for me to get this built into me.'' He removes his coat fully, giving them a good look at the implanted device and the lines running down his arms and legs that shine in the same red color. ''Wow, that's...'' Lena starts. ''Beautiful...'' 

''And frightening, if we consider what he went through to get this way.'' Winston comments, then added, ''I would like to move to my lab to continue this, Reinhardt, you and Brigitte are welcome too, though I'm guessing she would tag along anyway.'' He invites them, taking note of a bright smile Brigitte is wearing on her face and is staying near Shade, her previous task couldn't be further from her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brigitte and Shade know each other?! Well, to be exact they did, then Shade forgot then remembered again. But what is with Brigitte reaction to seeing him, was there more to them then just casual friendship? Probably, maybe. Find out in the next chapter. 
> 
> Do you guys want to see a side story of sorts of what happened between Shade and Brigitte? Any suggestions for his real name are welcome as I have no idea at the moment.
> 
> Preview of chapter 6:  
> \-------''A'ight...'' Started the cowboy, ''What now? You wanna join us or something?'' Rolling the cigarillo in his mount a bit, he goes straight for the bullseye. 
> 
> ''That's for this big guy...'' Shade points to Winston with his thumb, ''...and Dr. Zeigler to decide. As far as I understand the chain of command here. Plus as a bonus, you might have noticed that there is a certain lack of a very distinct person missing from all your missions lately. Care to guess who that might be?'' Shades sight travels from Winston to the rest of them, stopping on Lena. 
> 
> ''What? Me? How shou-'' Something clicks in Lena's head, ''Heeey! That's not fair. I have a girlfriend!'' She shoots back,-----
> 
> Again, some of you might have a good idea who the said person is, the rest will just have to wait until the next chapter. But how she and Shade relate might surprise you all. Until next week, Ta!


	6. Shades powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade introduces himself to the team Overwatch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, these are always a pain to write, because I usually don't have anything useful to add. But today I'll add a warning that in this chapter there is a case of self-harm, so anyone who can't stomach that should skip that part, it's obvious when it's coming.
> 
> Plus like I mentioned before I have been working on a side-story. Now there are two of them. They will be posted on Fridays in the future, but most likely won't be so regular as this one.

''So...'' Shade starts, when they sit down in the lab, Lena and Brigitte flanking him, Reinhardt standing next to his mechanic. While Winston taps on the keyboard, bringing up some documents that Shade gave Mercy, ''What do you guys wanna know? Besides the obvious things.'' 

''For start...'' Winston turns to face them, ''You said Slipstream messed up your memory, correct?'' Shade nods. ''That alone is quite interesting because nothing like it happened to Lena.'' He taps one of his fingers on his chin, thinking. 

''Like I told to Dr. Zeigler before. Seeing, feeling and doing certain things brings them back. That's how I remembered Brigitte the moment I saw her.'' Shade gives Winston his view on his memory problem. 

'' 'bout that? How do you two know each other?'' Lena asks. 

''Same boarding school. We've hit it off pretty good right away, then got involved and would be just your average couple...''

''Wow wow wow! Hold on a tick! You two were a couple?'' Lena starts putting on the brakes in Shades narration. 

''Mhm. We were.'' Shade answers. 

''Were?'' Brigitte asks with a sad expression as she still held to a hope that now that he came back they could get back together. 

Shade turning to face her, ''Sorry Brigitte, but yes, were. Even though I remember everything that involves you now, I didn't before I saw you in the hangar and have given my heart away to another before that already.'' He puts one arm around Brigitte's shoulders and lightly squeezes. 

''I understand.'' She nods and hangs her head. ''I did consider you dead anyway, so fair is fair....'' She trails off a bit. 

''Friends?'' Shade asks, shaking her a bit to bring her back. 

''Friends.'' She answers with a smile when she looks back up at him. 

''So, is she the one that was skydiving with you on that day?'' Lena asks when they've had their moment of silence. 

''Yes she was. And it was our anniversary, both of us daredevils, we decided to celebrate in style.'' 

''Ha, Birgitte, daredevil?!'' German giant starts, ''She keeps annoying me when I so much as swing my hammer too much or use the boosters for longer then I should!!!'' 

''Because I don't want to lose another friend to some dumb stunt!!'' Brigitte scolds Reinhardt, with a scowl that is all too familiar to him. 

''When you put it that way, I understand.'' He nods. ''But still its hard to imagine you being all wild.'' 

''Excuse me.'' Winston interrupts them when he put a couple of things together in his head. ''Does that mean that you have known about Overwatch before?'' 

''I might, yes.'' Shade guesses then continues with a shrug, ''But I don't recall anything.'' 

''Could be one of the reasons you decided to help us? Subconsciously knowing the heroes, admiring them since then.'' 

''Could be. But unless I remember something specific I can't tell for sure.'' Shade again shrugs it off. And then the doors leading in open and the rest of the team walks in, Fareeha, Angela, and their guest excluded. 

''Please, don't be alarmed, I only called them so we can do this once and once only.'' Winston raises his hand to stop Shade, who clearly stiffened and raised his guard when he heard the doors and many steps, ''But please guys, stay back a little.'' 

''Go on then.'' Shade, still sitting but clearly on guard, motions him. 

''Would you please come up here then.'' The big scientist waves his hand, inviting Shade to join him a the front. ''So a proper introduction can be made.'' 

''Of course.'' Shade stands up, and walks next to Winston and turns on his heels to face the heroes he saw so many times. But if it could be avoided never came so close to them. ''My name is Shade. Well, not my real name, but as I forgot that one, it's the one I'm using from now on.'' He starts, after Winston gave him a go ahead, ''As you can see...'' He waves his hand up and down, pointing to his whole body, ''I am another case of chronal disassociation, caused by the same event as hers.'' He points at Lena, and when she starts looking at him with an 'I'm sorry' face, he voicelessly mouths 'Not your fault.' before continuing. ''I was pulled back to real time by Moira O'Deorain and before you all start pulling out your guns, I no longer associate with her. But to be perfectly honest, am still in contact, because let's face it, who wouldn't, after she pulls you out, gives you a new chance at life, sure she put some weird shit into me as well. But overall, I'm still kicking and was more then glad to put those gifts or curses she gave me to help.'' There were nods in agreement in some and hushed whispers in others. 

''A'ight...'' Started the cowboy, ''What now? You wanna join us or something?'' Rolling the cigarillo in his mount a bit, he goes straight for the bullseye. 

''That's for this big guy...'' Shade points to Winston with his thumb, ''...and Dr. Zeigler to decide. As far as I understand the chain of command here. Plus as a bonus, you might have noticed that there is a certain lack of a very distinct person missing from all your missions lately. Care to guess who that might be?'' Shades sight travels from Winston to the rest of them, stopping on Lena. 

''What? Me? How shou-'' Something clicks in Lena's head, ''Heeey! That's not fair. I have a girlfriend!'' She shoots back. 

''Mhm'' Shade grins. ''Still doesn't stop ya from eyeing her with more than just innocent curiosity.'' 

''What? Who are you two on ab-?'' Hana chimes in, but stops midway, also realizing who those two are talking about. 

''Widowmaker.'' Genji clears things up for everyone else. 

''Hahaha!'' Jesse explodes. ''Tall, dark and with an' accent like that! Lena, darlin' you never stood a chance!'' Lena's face goes deep red and others start to snicker or giggle. The german giant clearly shaking, containing his laughter. Even Winston couldn't help it but cover his mouth with a hand and slightly shake. 

Shade winks at hard blushing Lena then continues, ''To get some heat off the little one, I am the one in the cordial relationship with the said sniper. And she no longer associates with Talon.'' That cut all the laughter right then and there. Lena goes wide-eyed, all others locked their sights on Shade now. ''Yes, and that is all I'll disclose on the matter for the time being. Moving on please.'' He turns to Winston, prompting him to change the topic. 

''Khm.'' He clears his throat before speaking. ''Yes, you are correct. Let us clear this one thing first. Why were you helping us?'' 

''Would, because I could and wanted to, do for now?'' 

''Quite. But to get this gang to trust you. You might want to explain a bit further at your own pace.'' 

''And I will.'' 

''Now would you please give us a rough rundown of your abilities?'' 

''Sure. What comes with this should be obvious.'' Shade points to the glowing disc on his chest. ''But its also different from Lenas, first, there is no limit to forward in time, so-called blinking. When I gave it a test run once, I covered from Cairo to Madrid in a single blink. Hurts a bit and I was also back in Slipstream during it and drains me physically like a good woman over the night.'' He pauses to see some of them hiding their face, some going red, other just coughing, clearing a sudden obstruction in their throats ''The bitch is, I can't recall. No going back.'' 

''None at all?'' Lena asks. 

''Nope. I get injured, I regenerate the natural way.'' 

''But that could take weeks on a gunshot wound...'' Lena recalls some of the videos she watched, and she clearly saw Shade getting hit. Even taking a full blast of Reapers shotgun into his back, but he kept going like nothing really happened. 

''About that...'' Shade looks around the gathering of heroes. ''Soldier got a knife or you Jesse?'' 

''Sure, here.'' Soldier pulls out his combat knife that he never leaves his room without and throws it at Shade. A bit strong to just be a pass. 

''Thanks...'' But Shade still plucks the projectile from the air like its nothing. ''Now, please don't get alarmed. Whatever I do next, won't harm me in the slightest.'' Shade warns them. Then extends his free arm, places the knife in top of his palm, blade already eating into the skin from mere pressure. Then slices it open, blood starts flowing ''Wait!!!'' He yells when some jump towards him, thinking he gone mental. ''Look.'' He wipes the blood into his pants and there is not even a scratch left, where there should be a big and deep cut. ''I regenerate super fast. In case of bullets, they just fall out, the same way they entered.'' He wipes the knife and throws it back at Soldier. But was too fast to catch, so Soldier did the smart thing and dodged. Knife embedding itself into the wall to the hilt. ''Ups, sorry, wasn't on purpose, honest!'' Shade quickly apologizes, seeing Soldier staring at him with a scowl. ''Guess we can call that number two, next, you probably noticed, I can do this too...'' Shade wraiths, circles the room then stops back where he was standing. 

''Shit!'' Lena curses. ''That always scares me. It's different enough to know it's you and not him, but still similar enough to send chills down my spine.'' She hugs herself, imitating being cold. 

''That's the number three and all I know of. There might be more if we consider who worked on me.'' Shade concludes the breakdown of his abilities. 

''Huuu.'' Jesse exhales. ''That alone is quite a set.'' And voices what everyone else was thinking. 

''But...'' Genji starts and Lucio, who is standing next to him can practically feel the grin. ''Are you-'' He stops mid-sentence, feeling a presence behind him that should be across the room. 

''Answered, I believe?'' Shade, now standing behind him snickers. 

''Whoa!!! What, how!?'' Lucio jumps, prompting others to turn to look in their direction. 

''My brother. Bested in his own game, never thought I would see the day.'' Hanzo lightly laughs. 

''Don't.'' Shade snarls when he spots Genji reaching for his blade. ''There is not enough space here for us to do this dance without harming others.'' He explains and walks normally back next to Winston. He thinks of something when he sees Reinhardt hammer along the way and stops next to him. Why he brought it along, escapes him. ''Aside from speed...'' He walks to the hammer. ''May I?'' And asks Rein, who gives him a nod of approval. ''There is the strength too.'' Picking it up, he twirls it in his hand like it weights nothing. Amazing once again all present. ''So if you think of challenging me in any of those. Don't. You will lose for sure. And I never respond to a challenge when there is no monetary gain.'' He eyes the tall russian, who was flexing her muscles when she saw him play with the hammer. He puts it back in its place and heads back to stand next to Winston. 

''Quite impressive.'' Winston rubs his chin when Shade rejoins him. ''And with that, I think we should wrap things up for today.'' And decides to end it there. ''Shade, you have an appointment with Angela, I was lead to believe. So do that while I prepare your quarters and input the data into Athenas database.'' They all start to leave. Lena, Brigitte, and Shade being last to walk out, Shade then separates from the two, saying he will meet them for dinner, then heads towards medical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Shade is quite a powerhouse isn't he? Hehe, yet there may be even more to him than meets the eye. Still got some reserve written so for at least 2 more months there will be regular posts on Thursdays.
> 
> Chapter 7 sneak peek:  
> \-----''Hey Doc, can I expect the same kind of treatment if I get a pain in my back?'' He teases, 
> 
> ''Okay, that is it. I'm done.'' Angela huffs, raising her arms off Fareehas back, and wipes them off in a towel. 
> 
> ''Hahahaha!'' Both Fareeha and Shade can't help themselves but laugh at that reaction.-----


	7. Doctor, Flyer and the Spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade gets a check-up, Amélie gets a phone call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet again I fail to upload on time. Damn it!  
> The two scenes were supposed to be two chapters but as they are short I decided to upload them as one.  
> They will be longer in the future, promise! ;P
> 
> Kudos if you like, comments if you got anything to say.

Knocking on the door, ''Doc, it's me, Shade.'' 

''One second, just finishing things with Fareeha.'' Angela responds, not quite realizing how she worded that. 

''I can give you more then a second if you want.'' Shade says, laughing a bit, prompting the egyptian to start laughing too. 

''Hahaha. You are a real piece of work. Just let him in Angie.'' Blushing when she realizes what the two are on, she unlocks the doors that slide open, and Shade walks in, a smile still on his face. 

''Hello again Doc and... Fareeha, I can call you that?'' He starts but stops to wait for her response. 

''Yes. I don't mind. You did save me from getting more than just an aching back earlier today. Thank you again for that.'' She says, while lying face down, Angela applying some pain relief ointment on her back. 

Shade just can't help himself. ''Hey Doc, can I expect the same kind of treatment if I get a pain in my back?'' He teases. 

''Okay, that is it. I'm done.'' Angela huffs, raising her arms off Fareehas back, and wipes them off in a towel. 

''Hahahaha!'' Both Fareeha and Shade can't help themselves but laugh at that reaction. 

''Want me to pick up the slack?'' Shade offers the flyer, which causes her to completely explode. 

''HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!'' She seemed to forget that she is topless, so Shade quickly turns around, when she rolls on her side clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. 

''Har, har, har, very funny. At least dress up first. Or do you want me to do your front too?'' Angela strikes back, making her patient blush and dial down on the laughter. Shade just shakes quietly, thinking it is wise to shut up now when the Doc turned up the sass. 

''All dressed.'' Fareeha says, after a quick rustle of clothing. 

''Take two and call me in the morning.'' Angela hands her some painkillers. 

''Morning?'' Flyer quirks an eyebrow. 

''You know that doesn't fully apply to you, now shoo.'' Angela chases her out of the room. ''I need to take a look at our new guest.'' But pecks her on the cheek first then closes the doors and turns to Shade. 

''Now then, where were we?'' 

''You tell me Doc, you got the files. Is this gonna kill me or am I basically a superhuman now?'' 

''If not for your Slipstream side of things, the rest that was done to you would kill you in 5 to 10 years. It is just too fast and too sudden for the human body to handle that. But she knew that as well and it is because of that that she dared to push things so far.'' Angela explains. 

Shades face switching from shock to surprise, ending in a facepalm, sighing deeply. ''Meaning?'' He asks when he faces the doctor again. 

''Meaning, you are currently a picture of health. Every single function dialed up to 150 if not to 200% of the norm.'' She concludes. 

''Heh, glad you approve Doc, so I'm done here for today?'' Shade stands up, pops his neck and shoulders. 

''Yes.'' She nods. ''I will forward my findings to Winston and you should expect to be put on a task force sooner than later.'' 

''One last thing before I leave.'' Shade turns back to face Angela with a more serious tone in his voice. ''Can't say I know the history between the two of you, but if she ever decides to come here, would you be willing to give her a fair shake?'' He asks for someone, but the responding face Angela leads him to believe they are not thinking of the same person. So he adds, ''Widow, not Moira.'' 

''Ah, she. How should I put this...'' She thinks for a moment, ''She is or maybe was close to me and I knew her well back then. Now...'' She pauses again. ''I can't say for sure I know the woman. Maybe I must meet her in person to decide?'' She locks eyes with Shade when she asks that. 

''Perhaps. Maybe I can arrange something, given my position with her.'' Shade chooses his words. 

''And that would be?'' Angela retorts. 

''Me being involved with her, in a similar fashion you are with Fareeha?'' Shade gives her the quick and sweet version. 

''Interesting. And, is she healthy?'' 

''Yes. And probably very worried, not hearing from me for so long. So can we conclude this over a tea, maybe coffee another day?'' Shade remembers he promised his beloved he would call her once things settle in, which technically still haven't but it's only fair. 

''Yes. I know the feeling very well and will not delay you any longer.'' Angela responds, a smile, half professional, half friendly, decorates her face. 

''Thanks Doc. Really glad we meet. Hopefully, we become close friends in the future.'' Shade shoots her a wink. 

''Haha. Get out already, you flirt. Fareeha will have your head if you try anything.'' Angela smiles even more gently. 

''Uf, better avoid that. See ya around.'' Shade waves over his shoulder leaving the room.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Amélie was working on a dancing routine when the phone rang, ''Merde.'' She curses then walks to the bench she left her phone on. Her face lights up when she sees the callers name on display, ''Bonjour mon amour.'' 

''Hey there beautiful.'' Her caller responds. 

''So you are at Gibraltar now?'' Knowing his plan she asks. 

''Yes. And am happy to tell you that I am not under lock and key and things look bright for the immediate future.'' Shade gives her a quick explanation. 

''Very well. When can I expect you home?'' 

''About that...'' He pauses for a moment. ''Would you be willing to come here?'' 

A short silence follows, Amélie giving the question a fair amount of thought. ''Would I be welcomed? I really can't imagine some of them saying _Hey there, welcome to the gang_. I shot at most of them in the past. Cost one her eye.'' She expresses her doubts about this idea. 

''I know what you mean. But I did reveal our relationship to all of them. So even if they don't want to, they have to at least tolerate you.'' 

A small giggle escapes Amélie when she imagines someone's face when she was told that. ''And the annoyance. How was she when you told her who you were?'' 

''Waterfalls, hugs, then she calmed down and we talked about it. You will like her.'' 

''Doubt it.'' She replies coldly.

''Brrrr, so cold. Anyway, I need to tell you one more thing.'' Shades voice goes seriously on the second part of that and Amélie could clearly hear it too. 

''All right.'' 

''I might have run into my ex when I arrived.'' Shade tells her, sounding apologetic. 

''Your ex?'' Amélie asks a bit confused. 

''Yeah. My ex-girlfriend, before the Slipstream. In my defense, I didn't remember her until I saw her in the hangar.'' 

''Ah yes. Your memory is about as messy as mine and did the feelings return too or...?'' 

''Yes and no, she knows you are with me now but I'll explain it to her in detail when I meet her and Lena over dinner later today and just to make sure, my heart belongs only to you now.'' 

''Good...'' Amélie starts and grins all too Widowmaker like before continuing, ''I was starting to think I would need to put a bullet through it.'' 

''You would do your best I'm sure, but this is one target you already caught in your web. Hahahaha.'' Shade responds with a laugh. 

''Anything else, chérie?'' 

''No, that covers all the important parts. And your day? How was it?'' Now its Amélies turn. 

''Normal, too normal. I was in the studio working on my routine when you called.'' 

''Awww. You look so good in that getup, regretting missing it.'' Shade sounding sad on the other side of the line. 

''I could be persuaded for a private show...'' Amélie teases with a sultry voice. 

''Yes, please! Perhaps I could throw something together when you come here?'' Shade responds with glee. 

''Perhaps. You really think this is possible?'' Amélie still in doubt, asks him. 

''No doubt in my mind. But you are right. Maybe we should wait for them to get used to me first, then add you to the mix.'' 

''Yes. At the very least they should be happy to know that I won't be looking at any of them through my scope anytime soon.'' 

''Hahaha. Yes, that is something they can relax about. While on the subject. How are things on the business side of things? Any work came our way?'' 

''None that I know off, but give me a minute to check.'' Amélie turns around an pulls open her laptop. Checks their business account for any requests, edges of her mouth quirk a bit when she sees one in particular. ''Ha, this one looks interesting....'' She mumbles as she reads it to herself, Shade staying quiet. ''Oh no.'' 

''What? Something wrong?'' Shade is quick to respond. 

''It depends.'' 

''On what?'' 

''On how much you want your fairy godmother to survive.'' Amélie explains, worry clearly sounding from her voice. 

''Moira?! There's a hit ordered on her? By whom?'' 

''Yes, if I'm reading this right. It's oddly encoded, but I am familiar with this code...'' Amélies eyes go wide when she reads the contact info. ''WAIT!'' 

''What love?! Talk to me!'' 

''I know who posted this. And I might even know why.'' 

''Well, don't keep it to yourself.'' 

''It's Reaper. And I think he wants to talk to you. More than kill Moira that is.'' 

''Make the arrangement for me to meet him in two days. I need to warm up a bit if I'm gonna need to bash his face in again.'' Shade respond with serious voice and popping of his knuckles could be heard through the phone. 

''You sure? It sounds to me there is some bad blood between the two of you.'' 

''Yes, to both. I've seen his aftermath on more than one occasion. And I never liked his style of doing things.'' Shades voice turns to growl at the end of that. 

''That is why you left him alive in Oasis?'' 

''No. That was a warning to stay out of Overwatch way and I thought he got the message. If not then, then when I got Akande.'' 

''If it makes you feel better, he did. You did quite a number on him back then. He wasn't himself for a month.'' Amélie recalls how shocked Reaper was when Shade beat him in Oasis. 

''Heh, maybe just a bit. Anyway, make that happen and I'll try to be civil.'' Shade sounded a bit more cheery saying that. 

''I will, Je t'aime Shade.'' 

''Love you too, my love.'' And then the line cuts. Amélie puts her phone down and starts to reply to Reaper, arranging the meeting between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ''Rescue'' mission in the future?  
> And Shade is meeting Reaper, wonder how that will go down. Half the city block destroyed or will they behave?  
> I know and it's already written, but you guys will have to wait a bit longer. ;)
> 
> Sneak peek in chapter 8:  
> \-----''There you go, but know that Angie is probably gonna let us have it if she finds out.'' Shade comments, setting the tray on the table and starts sitting down. 
> 
> ''She won't, if you go and get us some too.''-----
> 
> Cya next week, Ta!


	8. 3rd time's the charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea, coffee, beer... With a brit sitting at the table, we all know what wins and it's not tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of an R&R chapter, but perhaps only the calm before the storm?
> 
> I apologize to everyone who is looking forward to new chapters of _How Spider was reborn_ and _School, love, and tears_ , but progress is slow on those, plus I started to work on a 4th one that is not connected to this series but I had to get it out of my head to make room for new chapters this series. Those who write know too well what I'm talking about.

''Right, that's that sorted. Now let's see what Lena and Brigitte are up to.'' Shade thinks out loud, putting his phone away while walking towards the cafeteria. ''UH! Sorry...'' Not really paying attention to his surroundings, he bumps into someone and when he looks up, ''About that Ms. Zaryanova.''. The tall russian is one of the few that somewhat match him in height, so he is looking her dead in her eyes. 

''No problem and Aleks or Zarya will do just fine, friend.'' She responds, smiling. 

''In that case, Shade. Friend? Already?'' He wonders if she really already accepted him as one. 

''Yes, you are working with us now, no? And from what I have heard, you helped us before, yes?'' She answers. 

''Correct. I guess I just thought it's gonna take some time for you guys to accept me.'' Shade explains. 

''We brat'ya po oruzhiyu. How do you say in english? Brothers in arms now, yes? So friend.'' She comments, offering a handshake. 

''Alright then, friends.'' Shade responds and shakes Zarya's hand. 

''Strong hands, you go to gym?'' She asks. 

''On occasion.'' 

''Care to join me then? I am heading there now.'' Zarya follows up on her question, gesturing to the opposite way Shade was headed before he bumped into her. 

''Sorry.'' Shade shakes his head, ''Maybe another time, meeting Lena and Brigitte for early dinner.'' Explaining why he can't go with her. 

''Another time then. Do svidaniya friend.'' Disappointment shows up on her face for a moment but she cheers right up and starts walking away. 

''Goodbye Aleks.'' Shade says after the russian who is waving over her shoulder and is back on his way towards Lena and Brigitte. ''Interesting woman, this Zarya. Not all brawn like she looks like on first sight.'' Thinking out loud he reaches the cafeteria doors that slide open and he begins scanning it for the duo that is supposed to be waiting for him. He sees Genji straighten up as he sees him, but Zenyatta, who is next to him, says something that brings ninja back to his relaxed state. 

''Over here, luv!'' Lena calls for him, waving her arm. 

''Gotcha. Gonna grab something to drink, you two want something?'' He asks his companions when he reaches the table. 

''Tea for me, just tell the lady it's for me, she knows how I take my cuppa.'' Lena goes full english. 

''Coffee for me, black.'' Brigitte also takes Shade on his offer. 

''Got it, be right back.'' Shade walk towards the counter and places his order, opting for a cold one himself. _He's earned one today_ he thinks, when he picks up the tray with tea and coffee with one hand, his pint with the other and heads back to their table. ''There you go, ladies.'' 

''Oi! If you're gonna have one, I want one too.'' Lena complains when she sees Shades beer. 

''Same here.'' Brigitte agrees with Lena. 

''And here I thought we are gonna have a meaningful conversation.'' Shade shrugs, still standing. 

''That plan went out the window as soon as you showed up with that beer.'' Lena smiles and Brigitte chuckles a bit. Shade rolls his eyes and heads back to the counter, the lady there all smiles too, and has the beers ready, seemingly overhearing their conversation. 

''Thank you.'' Shade thanks her and picks up the second tray under five minutes, this time full of filled beer glasses. ''There you go, but know that Angie is probably gonna let us have it if she finds out.'' Shade comments, setting the tray on the table and starts sitting down. 

''She won't if you go and get us some too.'' Shade nearly jumps out of his skin, when the aforementioned doctor says that from behind him. That causes Lena, Brigitte, and Fareeha that came with her to start laughing. 

''Laugh it up...'' Shade growls. ''Fine, what's your poison then Doc, and yours, Fareeha?'' But relaxes and accepts his fate. 

''Your choice seems interesting. Get me one too.'' Angela answers first. 

''Same here.'' Fareeha quickly follows. 

''Okay. But then, even if the world starts to end, I'm finishing mine before standing up again.'' Shade comments as he picks up the, now empty, tray and heads back to the counter for the third time. And grabs the drinks for the newly arrived and finally sits down and grabs his beer. ''Cheers!'' He offers to the rest at the table. 

''CHEERS!!!'' They join in unison. 

Few rounds in and the conversation takes a weird turn when Lena blurts, ''Sooooo... Shade, you an' Brigitte?'' Pretty pissed, she ventures on, ''Ah! You can't remember shit, then you Brigitte, how was Shade? Aaaand don't leave out any juicy details.'' 

Brigitte turns a few shades of red on her face before answering, ''Not much different as he is now, minus the super and time traveling part.'' 

''Boooooring! C'mon, you know what I wanna know, now spill it!'' Lena presses on. 

''Lena Oxton, you are totally without shame!'' Angela scolds her. 

''Like you don't wanna know!'' Lena fires right back. Angela trying to hide her blush by burying her face in Fareehas shoulder. 

''Hahaha!'' The egyptian laughs, then adds, ''I for one do want to know.'' And locks Brigitte in her sight. 

''Okaaaay! I am leaving then!'' Shade tries to stand up, only for Brigitte to grab his arm and pulls him back into his seat. 

Shades expression of surprise as his ass hits the chair sends the other three into a laughing fit. ''Not a chance buster! If I'm answering these, you are gonna be right along for the ride.'' And Brigitte uses the chance to redirect the heat. ''But Lena, correct me if I'm wrong, but since when are you interested in guys? Pretty sure you were girls only?'' Now the ball was in her corner and all eyes were on her. 

''Well... you know...'' She stumbles over her words, ''Shade might be an exception to that rule...'' She finally says, blushing and lowering her head. 

''Really? How so?'' Fareeha quirks an eyebrow. 

''For one, look at him. He is by any standard quite handsome. Second, we are the only two in the world that went through that.'' She finishes, pointing to Shades chest where the red disc was glowing, sounding a touch sad at the end. 

''Awww. No need to feel down over this little thing.'' Shade reaches over the table and scruffs Lenas hair for a bit. 

''I'm not! Not really... but...'' She stops mid-sentence. 

''But?'' This time Angela prompts her to continue. 

''But back when you did that in my apartment, I felt something...'' Her hand reaching over to her shoulder that Shade touched back then. ''Something similar to what I feel towards Emily, but not quite the same...'' She tries to finish her sentence but her mental abilities are somewhat impeded due to the sixth pint in her body. ''Aaaaaah!'' She growls, scruffing her hair. ''This is so confusing, I'm supposed to be gay and I never so much as looked at guys this way. Now you come out of nowhere...'' She looks up at Shade. He teasingly tilts his head and quirks an eyebrow at that. ''Oi! You know what I mean!'' Lena, noticing that, pouts. 

''Hehe'' He chuckles. ''Yeah I do. Enough of that for now or Lena is gonna blow a fuse or something.''

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena is not totally gay? Hm... well, she still has Emily, but are they strictly monogamous? Who knows?
> 
> Sneak peek in chapter 9:  
> \-----''Then its on?'' 
> 
> ''Sure, but loser buys the winner a dinner in town. Winner picks the place.''-----


	9. Booze+sleep=hangover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes get snoozing after the boozing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On time upload?! What heresy is that?! Haha, anyway, this chapter is still more in the R&R category but I promise action will resume after that. Well, sort of.

They share a few more laughs, down a few more beers, Shades history with Brigitte is still a secret and it was a bit past midnight when they decided to wrap things up. 

''Okay, I'm taking this sleeping beauty to bed.'' Fareeha says, picking up passed out Angela in a princess carry. Angela, almost on reflex, wraps her arms around Fareehas neck and nuzzles into it. 

''Right, then I'm helping speedy here. She looks a bit too wobbly to make it on her own.'' Shade comments and starts helping Lena on her feet, who clearly drank more then she can carry. 

''Oi, I'm...not... that... pissed?! Am I?'' She says while leaning heavily into Shade, her legs not really doing their job. 

''Want me to let go so you can find out?'' Shade smirks, holding Lena around her waist. 

''Nah luv, I know my limits... Most of the time... But can I ask for something?'' Lena smiles and looks up into Shades dark eyes. 

''I guess?'' Shade can't help it but wonder what Lena wants now. 

''Carry me on your back please?'' Lena asks, giving Shade a dose of puppy eyes. 

''You sure? I thought you would want one of those...'' Shade points at leaving Fareeha, Angela in her arms. 

''Nah, plus I feel a bit off, and I don't really want to start honking in your chest.'' Shade needs a moment to translate that into english. 

''Oh! But you have no problem doing it over my shoulder like Predators shoulder mount?'' They share a laugh at that mental picture and Shade kneels on one leg so Lena can climb on his back and she wraps her arms around his neck, while he grabs her thighs and stands up. Takes a step but stops, ''I feel like we are forgetting someone... Right! Brigitte!'' He says loudly and turns towards a groan coming from behind them. 

''You two go on ahead. I need a minute then I'll head to bed too.'' Brigitte says, all groggy looking. 

''You sure? I can come and get you too after I drop this load.'' Shade responds, lightly shaking Lena. ''Auch!'' Who playfully bumps him on the head, nearly losing her grip and falling off but pulls herself back up, choking Shade in the process. 

''Sorry 'bout that.'' She quickly apologizes when he begins to cough. 

''Yes, I'm sure. One gets a handle on these things when you drink with a german giant.'' Brigitte waves them off, smiling when she recalls some of the nights when she and Reinhardt took to the local pub at the town they were at at the time. 

''Okay, night then.'' 

''Night luv.'' Shade and Lena say their goodbyes and leave the mechanic behind as they make their way towards Lena's room. 

While walking down the hall, Shade has a thought, ''Hey Lena?'' 

''Mmm?'' 

''How you feel about some practice tomorrow?'' 

''Practice? Like what? Fist fighting?'' 

''Nah, was thinking more in a urban combat, me versus you.'' 

''You nuts? I don't stand a chance against you.'' 

''Okay, how 'bout this? You get your all, but I can't wraith or blink, just use my enhanced speed and strength to fight against you.'' 

''Mmmm... I get my pistols?'' 

''And your bomb, but paint only, of course.'' 

''You daft? 'f course I won't use the real thing in practice.'' 

''Then it's on?'' 

''Sure, but loser buys the winner a dinner in town. Winner picks the place.'' 

''Lena Oxton, you trying to set up a date with me?'' 

''I just might.'' She nuzzles in Shades neck after that and they walk the rest of the way in silence and when they reach Lena's door, Shade can hear her snoring softly on his shoulder. 

''Heh, out like a light.'' He starts in a whisper, then adds, still in a whisper, ''Athena can you please open the door?'' Doors slide open. ''Thank you. Now then...'' He gently lowers Lena in her bed after pulling the blanket away, but as he tries to take off her shoes and tuck her in, she jumps up and hugs him. 

''Stay with me tonight?'' Sounding almost sad she whispers that in his ear. 

''Got enough room for a big guy like me in that bed of yours?'' He smiles at her when they separate. 

''Mhm. Mind turning around, I need to get this bugger off me?'' Lena taps her chest piece. 

''Sure.'' Shade turns around and hears a rustle of clothes then unclasping of clamps, presumably from the accelerator, followed by a thud. 

''Ready.'' When Shade turns around, Lena is under the blanket, only her head poking out. He takes off his boots, shirt, and the belt out of his pants but keeps them on. 

''Wow.'' Lena exhales when she sees Shades implanted version of accelerator and lines that flow to his limbs from it. 

''Yeah, quite a sight isn't it?'' He comments. 

''Sure is, now get in.'' Lena says, holding up the blanket so Shade can lay next to her. And as soon as he does, Lena doesn't waste a moment to squeeze on to his chest, wrapping an arm around him. 

''Heh, Night Lena.'' He says, chuckling, wrapping one arm around her shoulders, putting the other one hers. 

''Night Shade.'' And soon after that, lights go out for both of them.

 

Lena wakes up next morning with a bit of a hangover, a strange bulky body under her arm, while her head is resting on a light emitting chest, ''Cor blimey...'' She quips but shuts her mouth the next second, as she remembers who her night guest is. ''Shaaaade...'' She whispers, testing if she woke him up, but no reaction on his part tells her that he is still fast asleep. ''Good... You keep snoozing and let Lena take care of breakfast.'' She whispers, sneaking out of bed, throwing on a shirt, some sweatpants with Tracer written on its legging, grabs her accelerator and heads out of the room, blinking towards cafeteria as soon as the doors close behind her. 

When she gets there, she sees Angela nursing a coffee mug, Fareeha rubbing her back, ''Hullo Angie, Fareeha. Bit of hangover there?'', she says hi to the duo while heading towards the counter. 

''Hey Lena, not just a bit, why did I let you guys get me so drunk? I got so much work today.'' Angela answers with a groan, the free hand on her head. 

''It's not that bad. Plus I'm free today so I'll help you out.'' Fareeha leans on Angela, nodding a hello towards Lena. 

''Okay. Oh right, hey Doc. Me and Shade decided to do some urban combat training today, so I'm reserving the place for the day.'' Lena informs the resident medic of their plan while placing her order. 

''Please be caref...'' Angela starts to answer, ''Wait, what?'' Then she puts the two and two together, ''You and who?'' 

''Me and Shade.'' Lena says that part again, as she picks up the delivered food. 

''He will tear you apart.'' Fareeha voices what both she and Angela were thinking. 

''Nah, he doesn't get to blink or wraith, but I get my full arsenal.'' Lena explains why she might have a chance against Shade. 

''Hm...'' Fareeha thinks for a moment, ''This might be interesting to watch. How long do you plan to go at it?'' She asks. 

''No idea.'' 

''Where is he anyway?'' Angela asks. 

''Ah. The sleeping beauty is in my room, snoring daylight away.'' Lena shows the two portions of breakfast she picked up, ''Thought I might surprise him with a bit of breakfast in bed, as a way of a thank you.'' She smiles, her cheeks go a bit rosy too. 

''Never change Lena.'' Angela smiles, Fareeha is soon to follow. 

''See ya later.'' Lena says goodbye to the duo as she exits the cafeteria and heads back towards her room. 

When the doors open, her bed is empty, but Shades shirt and boots are still there. ''Oi! Shade, where you at?'' She asks loudly. 

''Bathroom. Takin' a piss of a century!'' He yells back. 

''Okay. Got a bite for you here, get it before it gets cold!'' She yells back, laughing. And a minute later bathroom doors open and Shade walks out, wiping his hands in a paper towel. ''Nice case of bed hair you are sporting there luv! Hahaha!'' Lena laughs as she sees Shade. 

''If you think this is bad, you didn't look in the mirror today yet. Hahaha.'' Shade fires right back. 

Lena's eyes go wide, ''Rubbish?!'' 

Shade just points towards the bathroom over his shoulder with his thumb and a grin is plastered all over his face. 

Soon after Lena entered the bathroom, ''Blimey!!! Now that's a cock-up and a half!'' Is heard and she exits the next second. 

''You know I went to cafeteria lookin' like this?'' Face a touch red, she sits at the table, across from Shade, who already started on his breakfast. 

''First, thanks for this.'' He points towards the mean with his fork. ''Second, if one didn't know better, you look like Emily came over for a visit!'' 

''Oi! Just so you know I look far worse after she is done with me and you're welcome.'' Not quite realizing what she said, Lena digs into her food as well. Shade simply quirks an eyebrow and waits, letting her figure it out on her own. 

''Fuck!'' She curses when things click in. ''I just said all that out loud?'' Her face goes red, Shade nods and starts to shake, holding back his laughter. ''I suppose that's one way to start a day!'' She chirps, smiling. He just smiles back and they both dig into their breakfast in earnest. 

''So? What's the plan?'' Lena asks when they finish their breakfast. 

''Hm...'' Shade thinks for a second. ''Meet you in training place in an hour?'' He responds, wiping his mouth and hands with a paper napkin. 

''An hour?'' Lena wonders. 

''Yes. Was thinking of checking on Brigitte and I wanted to ask her something.'' 

''M'kay. One hour. CQB training arena. You unarmed, me fully equipped.'' Lena sums up the plan. 

''Never said I would be without a gun.'' Shade shrugs. 

''What? You said...'' Lena starts.

''I said I won't blink or wraith. Never said anything about being unarmed.'' Shade interrupts her. 

''Fair enough, I guess. Mind telling me what you are bringing? You know my stuff.'' 

''Not at all. Probably one of Reyes's old shotguns and something else.'' 

''Something else?'' 

''Yes. I saw Brigitte working on something on the day we arrived here. And it caught my eye.''

They get dressed. Lena dons her Tracer gear, Shade puts on his shirt and boots, lacing them up tightly. 

''Cya in an hour then?'' Lena asks once they step out of her room and the doors close behind them. 

''Yeah.'' He nods. ''And you better bring your A game. Even though I can't blink or wraith, I don't plan to pull my punches.'' And answers her with a grin, putting up his hand, balled into a fist, offering a fist bump. 

''Hehe'' She chuckles. ''Sure thing, hot stuff. Don't let me run circles around you then.'' She responds with a grin of her own, bumping fists and they split. Lena heading to get her weapons, Shade to check on Brigitte.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena, you cheeky girl, getting Shade in bed with you on day one. What will Emily say to when she finds out? 
> 
> Okay, betting pool is open who will win Shade or Lena? And what will Shade ask Brigitte for?
> 
> Sneak peak in chapter 10:  
> \-----''Not just one, a whole damn regiment of the buggers.'' Shade exhales when he remembers that fight. 
> 
> ''WHAT?!'' she nearly yells that.-----


	10. Booze+sleep=hangover part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade forgot that you don't wake a swede with a hangover until they decide to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late on the upload... what else is new?

''Heeey, Brigitte you up yet?'' Shade says loudly while knocking on her door. Brigitte stirred, opening one eye to glance at the clock and sees it's still early. 

''Men vad fan!? Bäst att det är något jävligt viktigt..'' She curses getting up from the bed, when the knocking, that sounds like a jackhammer in her hangovered head, doesn't stop. 

''WHAT?!'' She half yells in his face when the doors slide open. 

''Sorry...'' Shade takes a step back from the agitated mechanic. ''Heh...'' Only to start holding back a laugh when he scans her top to bottom. Hair a jumbled mess, her tank top slid off one of her shoulders, half covering her boxers that have a cute gear imprint in front. 

''Oh, hey Shade...'' She says hi. Her brain finally boots up enough for her to realize her state and a furious blush hits her face. 

''Need a minute?'' Shade offers, crossing his arms over his chest. 

''Yes, but it's not like you didn't see it all already...'' She says, turns and walks back to her room, gesturing Shade to come in. 

''That's new.'' He comments when doors close behind him, pointing to a tattoo of two wrenches that curve in a shape of a heart with **Alltid i mitt hjärta** written inside of it, on her exposed shoulder blade. 

''This baby?'' She looks towards it over her shoulder. ''Yeah, got it the day after I put your casket in the ground...'' Sounding sad as a painful memory came up in her mind. Shade doesn't waste a second and steps closer to her, gently wrapping his arms around her from behind, her arms soon on top of his and she hangs her head, holding back her tears. 

''Better?'' He asks after they stood there in silence for a minute. 

''Yes, thank you'' She nods and smiles, when she turns to face him, as they separate. ''At least you didn't lose your touch.'' 

''Heh, guess not.'' He responds with a grin, scratching back of his head. 

''Anyway.'' She grabs some clothes from her closet. ''Let me get dressed, but tell me why in Gods name did you wake me up already?'' And heads towards the bathroom while saying that. 

''Gonna do some combat training with Lena...'' He answers. ''Was wondering if I could borrow that thingy I saw you working on when we arrived?'' Sitting down on the edge of her bed, he leans sideways, trying to sneak a peek through the opened bathroom door. 

''Men will be men.'' Brigitte comments and rolls her eyes, a gentle smile decorating her face. Shade fails to notice she can see him in the bathroom mirror. 

''Caught in the act.'', he comments, grinning, getting upright again, when he does. 

''Combat training with Lena? With your set you will destroy her...'' She leans on the doorframe, fully dressed now, finger-combing her hair, putting them in a ponytail moments later. 

''Nah. We agreed I won't blink or wraith, but she keeps her all.'' 

''Still...'' Brigitte starts thinking how that could go down. ''Your weapon of choice?'' Gesturing the exit door with her head. 

''One of Reyes's old shotguns and was hoping for your help with the other.'' He answers, getting up and heads there. 

''I guess I could let you have one of the prototypes. Some combat data might come in handy when I finish the main thing.'' She tells him, as they start walking towards her workshop, when he explained what is it that he wants to ask her for. 

''Great, happy to help.'' 

''Don't get too excited. Prototypes are named so for a reason.'' 

''Nah. Even prototypes build by you should work like a charm.'' He winks at her. 

''Heh, well here we are.'' She says as they reach the workshop and the doors open. They walk in and she heads straight for a number of devices on one of the desks inside the shop. They seem to mount on one's wrist. ''This...'' She picks the most completed looking one and activates it. ''Is for me.'' The projected barrier covers her head to toes and is only a bit wider then she is. 

''Very nice. But I'm guessing that not the one I'm getting.'' Shade comments on her display. 

''Not a chance...'' She shakes her head matter of factly. ''This one is for you...'' She deactivates the barrier and throws him a different one. This one looking a bit rough around the edges but should still function. 

''Okay, let's see...'' Shade puts it on in similar fashion he saw Brigitte do it and activates it, ''Smaller, but lighter...'' He says when the projected barrier is about the size of an old viking round shield when the one Brigitte showed was bigger then roman scutum. 

''Yes, that's the last prototype before I made this one.'' She comments tapping the device still on her wrist. 

''Just curious. Can you adjust the size of this one?'' Shade asks, deactivating his. 

''Smaller yes, bigger no.'' 

'''S what I had in mind. I would need it about 50% smaller. I'm against a speedster, so a smaller one will be more maneuverable, while still protecting me.'' He explains his plan. 

''I understand. Here let me adjust it. As a side effect it will make it stronger.'' She picks up a tool and walks towards Shade and holds his arm with the device on and starts turning one of the screws anti-clockwise. ''This should do it. Give it a shot.'' She says, stepping back, gesturing Shade to activate the device. He does and a smaller barrier pops up. ''How's that?'' She asks. Shade gives the activated barrier a few swings. Going from the front to his back, to above his head, then behind his head. 

''Perfect.'' He says with a smile. 

''You look like you did this before...'' Brigitte comments, putting the tool down on the table, and leans on it, crossing her arms in front. 

''Did something similar before. But I used a much heavier Bastion shoulder armor I tore of the poor bastard.'' Shade explains. 

''Bastion? You fought one?!'' Brigitte goes wide-eyed in surprise. 

''Not just one, a whole damn regiment of the buggers.'' Shade sighs, when he remembers that fight. 

''WHAT?!'' She nearly yells that. 

''Yeah. Stumbled on a bunker of some sort one day. Full of battle omnics in sleep mode...'' He starts to explain, scratching his head. ''My intrusion must have triggered the activation and the dance began.'' 

''Bunker of omnics? Never heard of one before. Just how many were there?'' She asks him, concern clear on her face. 

''Heh, if I recall the numbers correctly... around 20 Eradicators, 25 Bastion units in different configurations and about 30 OR-14's.'' He calmly ticks off different types of omnics on his fingers. 

''WHAT!?!?!'' Brigitte does scream this time, jumping upright. ''And you beat them all... By yourself?'' She asks, answers to that already clear, he is standing in front of her after all. 

''Yeah, I guess I did.'' Shade scratches the back of his head, smiling, thinking she is complimenting him, but instead she gives him a strong slap across his right cheek. 

''YOU FOOL!!! If this happens again, get out of there! You have us now to help!'' She points a scolding finger right into his nose. 

''Auch...'' Shade caresses his pulsing cheek. ''H... eh. Sure... will do.'' He finishes, looking like a bucket of cold water was poured on him. 

''Sorry about the slap, I just reacted...'' Brigitte apologizes, putting her own palm over Shades that was on his cheek. 

''It's okay. Probably earned that one.'' 

''Heh, like usual.'' They both laugh at that. 

''Okay gotta run. Need to meet Lena and I still don't know where to go exactly.'' Shade says after that is over. 

''Athena light up the path to urban combat arena starting from here.'' Brigitte tells her. 

''Already done.'' The doors open and they can see a string of lights on the wall pulsing to point the way. 

''That helps. Thank you both. Come over to see what trouble we get into.'' He invites her when he starts following the lights. 

''I just might. Don't have that much work today.'' She responds, smiling, shooing him with a hand gesture. 

''See you there then!'' He waves over his shoulder and starts jogging down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Men vad fan!?=What the hell!?  
> Bäst att det är något jävligt viktigt..=Best that it's something damn important..  
> Alltid i mitt hjärta=Forever in my heart
> 
> Completely forgot to mention this. SOOOOORRY!!!!
> 
> Omnic bunker idea was borrowed from amazing [TidalLion]() with his permission and its from his work titled [Overwatch Revival: The Hunter](). Give it a read. Its great.


	11. Shade vs Tracer take 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade trains with Tracer. Things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter almost on time. Hehe

''Now this is big!'' Shade says, whistling, when he enters the arena that the team uses to train combat in urban areas. The place is massive. Random buildings litter it from one end to the other. Some small houses, some multistoried skyscrapers that end few floors up once they reach the ceiling. Roads are of all types too. From dirty dusty country road, to multi-laned motorways, with different vehicles randomly placed on all of them. 

''Glad you like it. Its one of few places I can really let loose inside this Watchpoint.'' Lena chirps, blinking closer from behind. 

''Hehe...'' Shade grins when a thought strikes him. ''Wouldn't mind giving your ninja friend an ass-kicking here. Plenty of space to stretch my legs properly.'' 

''Gotta beat me first.'' She retorts. 

''Need a warm up? Because I sure do.'' He asks her. 

''Yeah. And Angie will appreciate it too. Far less risk of pulling a muscle or bust a joint.'' Lena says and begins with some stretching exercises for her legs. Jumping in place a few times. Shade just stays completely still, closes his eyes, and for some reason, his clothes flutter like there is an updraft where he is standing. 

''All done.'' He says a mere moment later. 

''What? But you didn't do anything.'' She wonders. 

''Not now. But I did the whole stretching and warm up in the next 30 min. Then traveled back through Slipstream to this time. It's different from Recall mind you, but it does its job.'' He explains. 

''How?'' 

''First off, you are probably scared of it, so until you get past that, I'm afraid this won't work.'' 

''C'mon, I at least wanna try it.'' Lena begs. 

''Okay. Might give it a try. Its training after all.'' 

''Yea!'' Lena's eyes light up when he agrees. ''So what do I do?'' 

''Stand completely still...'' Shade realizes how tall of an order that is for Lena and a chuckle escapes. 

''Oi!'' 

''Yeah, yeah... Now close your eyes and focus on where you are right now. Try to take everything in. How everything smells, feels, sounds like... Try to soak up every little detail.'' 

''Mmmmmm....'' Lena's face relaxes and she is only tilting her head a bit. Now to left, now to right. As if listening to the most minuscule sounds. Then goes still after a few moments and start to inhale deeply through her nose, slowly exhaling through her mouth. 

''Perfect. Now just imagine yourself back in Slipstream... Don't worry I'm right here and will stop you if something goes wrong.'' He continues his instructions with a calm voice. 

''Haaaaa...'' Lena exhales as her face constricts into a grimace. 

''I'm right here. Keep going.'' Shade says and Lena relaxes a bit but is still tense. 

''Great job. Now do your usual warm-up routine. Then head back through Slipstream to where you are right now. I'll be right here.'' 

Lena disappears for a second then reappears and her clothes flutter the same way Shades did, and there is sweat on her forehead, her breathing accelerated. ''Wow... that was something else.'' She says when she opens her eyes 

''Heh. Don't want to scare you but you were gone for a second. But that should be gone with more practice. So great job for your first attempt.'' Shade tells her what happened from his perspective. 

''Shit...'' A touch of fright shows up on her face. ''But I feel great. All ready to go!'' But is quickly replaced with face wide smile. 

''Okay. Wanna do a tag game? If the sensors register a lethal strike, point. Best 3 out of 5 for the first round?'' Shade suggests. 

''I'm game. Ready?'' She says grinning. 

''Born. In 3, 2, 1, GO!'' Shade signals the start and Lena is gone, blinked away. Shade pulls out his shotgun that looks close to current Reapers but is more crudely designed and bulkier. He activates the barrier and starts walking down the street. Head on a swivel, scanning for any sign of Tracer. Blue blur to his left, then a sound from behind. He shields his front and fakes turning his weapon behind him. 

''Gotc...'' Lena starts when she blinks just above his barrier, but stops when she is staring straight into the business end of Shades shotgun. 

''1:0 for me?'' Shade says without pulling the trigger. Paint pellets may not kill, but a face full of them at this range will quickly ruin your day. 

''Damn...'' Lena curses, but smiles the next moment. ''This dance ain't over yet! Ta!'' Giving Shade a wink she blinks away again. Shade just resumes his walk, trying to bait her to do it again and it's not long before the same pattern repeats. Blink, some steps on the opposite side, then again blink next to him. 

''Bugger!'' She curses again, Shades shotgun in her face again. 2:0. 

But just before she could blink away, ''Stop!'' Shade yells. 

''Huh?'' She turns to face him. 

''Try to mix it up. Use random blinking, add vertically to it too...'' He instructs her. 

''What?'' She doesn't seem to get it. 

''You did the exact same thing twice now. Blink, steps then blink in.'' 

''I did not?'' 

''Yes you did. Try to get me guessing where you are first before you go for the kill. Strafe me for a bit. You got high volume auto pistols, use 'em.'' He continues to instruct her. 

''M'kay. Will try something.'' And she is gone. Shade continues his walk, but lowers his posture and keeps tension on one leg at all times. Ready to leap away at any moment. Blue blur right in front of him, then to his side, suddenly pistols are heard and he rolls, using his small barrier to block that direction. But a gush of air from his side informs him that she is long gone from there. Turning his barrier, he replaces it with the shotgun and shoots, more preemptively than to actually hit anything but, 

''Oi!'', is heard just before she blinks out of the way. Shade runs into the nearby building. Tense moments pass. He listens for her, trying to peek out the window next to him, only to pull back as a strafe of bullets paints it the moment later. Change of plan. She learns fast, but he is fast and strong. Bolting behind one of the cars on the street, he grabs it and launches it upwards in a spin. Jumping on to it while it still spins, he scans the surroundings. ''Got you!'' Curiosity killed the cat and Lena peeked out from her cover to see what the noise was. Not noticing him when he leaped from the spinning car and flanked her, ''Hey...'' He taps her shoulder with the shotgun. 

''WHA..!!!'' She leaps from surprise.

''3:0.'' He says calmly. 

''Oi, I thought we said no wraithing?!'' She complains. 

''Didn't do any. Was on that...'' He points to a car that just crashed back in its original spot. ''And saw you peek out to look. Then I simply ran around to get behind you.'' 

''Best 2 out of 3?'' Lena ask, a bit disappointed she didn't score a single point this round. 

''Okay, but let's change things a bit. This time, 10 minutes time limit, guns blazing. You got two of them, I just got the one, but the barrier should balance stuff out.'' Shade suggests. 

''Most tags win?'' Lena cheers up. 

''Yes. Ready? Athena, please start the countdown and signal the end of time.'' 

''Ready.'' 

''3, 2, 1, GO!'' Is heard from speakers and this dance is a whole different beast. No sneaking, no looking for a safe shot. Just a lot of blinking and pistol fire from Lena's side and cracking of Shades shotgun from his. His barrier more painted every second that passes. He gets a good tag on Lena's leg but she recalls and puts a line of paint on his back. She blinks away but Shade predicts her landing and leaps towards it, shotgun blazing and adds a good tag on Lena's butt that repaints the orange to green. Rolling on, he leaps to the side, to avoid her training her pistols on him. She reacts faster and blinks towards his cover, planting a bomb on top just as he rolls into it. 

''Damn.'' He curses as the bomb ticks off and repaints his barrier that shuts off. 

''Barrier energy depleted.'', Athena informs him and now the battle begins in earnest with both leaping in and out of each other reach. Shotgun cracks just past Lena's head quite a few times, Lena's pistols also sing past Shade as he zigzags to close back in. 

''Hahahahahahaha!'' They both start laughing while fighting, pushing each other to go faster.

''Wow!'', Hana exhales when she sees Shade and Lena duke it out from the observation deck that overlooks the arena. 

''Yeah. And they've been at it for more than an hour, and are only getting faster.'' Soldier responds. 

''But why won't Shade blink or wraith?'' Lucio that came with Hana, wonders when he observed the scene for a few moments. 

''He can't. That was the rule for even starting this.'' Fareeha explains when she and Angela join them. 

''Wait a second!'' Winston that joined them moments later, says. Spotting something on one of the screens that show a closer picture of what goes on in there, he directs his next request to the AI. ''Athena dial up the volume a bit.'' 

''Hahahaha!!'' Their laughter fills the rooms, but Winston focuses on Lenas.

''Oh my god.'' Winston goes wide-eyed, one of his hands cover his mouth and his eyes start to water. 

''What is it, Winston? Something wrong?'' Fareeha asks. 

''No, not at all.'' He responds. '' In fact everything is as it should've been long ago. Angela, you can hear it too, right?'' He turns to look at Angela. 

''Now that you point it out... Mein Gott...'' She has the same reaction that Winston had. 

''C'mon guys, don't keep us hanging!'' Lucio demands they explain. 

''It's Lena...'' Winston starts. ''She might have smiled or even laughed, but since the Slipstream, there was always a bit of sad undertone to it. Like it was never completely genuine. You would have to have known her before the incident to notice it.'' He smiles as he continues to listen, a tear rolls down his cheek. 

''Now she is back, really back.'' Angela finishes his thoughts and starts to examine the vitals of the occupants in the arena and it's then that horror paints her face and she slams the intercom button ''Both of you stop! NOW!!'' She yells, her voice fills the arena below. Momentary distraction causes Shade and Lena to collide mid-air. Shade quickly grabs Lena and hugs her tightly and they crash on the ground, Shade acting as a cushion for Lena. 

''You okay?'' He asks. 

''Yeah, thanks.'' 

''No problem. Now get off, Doc seems to pissed about something.'' Part of a sky turns into a big window of the observation deck and they can see all that gathered to watch them. 

''Hullo guys!'' 

''Hello!'' They both wave at them. 

''I'll give you hello with a kick right up your irresponsible behinds!'' Angela growls. ''You are both well past exhaustion and only adrenaline is keeping you going.'' She explains her blow out. 

''Uf, now that you mention it...'' Lena says and they both sit down. 

''Hey, you know that trick works here too.'' Shade tells Lena with a sidelong look, a coy smile on his face.

''Heh, let's see if I can get two for two.'' She responds, matching her smile to his. 

''What trick? Don't do anything stupid, Lena!'' Angela warns them. 

''Ready?'' Shade flat out ignores her. 

''Ready.'' Lena nods, also ignoring the resident doctors warning.

''Okay. The same thing as for warm up. Just go back from here to where we started, then come back.'' They both close their eyes and air around them lifts some dust then settles back down in a second. 

''Big spike in chronal energy detected Winston. It's already gone, but it's the second one today.'' Athena informs him. 

''What?'' Is the reaction from both him and Angela but for different reasons. 

''Doctor, you first.'' Winston tells her. 

''Well. Just a few moments ago their vitals were showing they were at the edge of passing out from exhaustion. Now they are fine as if they just woke up.'' 

''Hehe.'' Shade chuckles and stands up then helps Lena get up too. 

''Oi Shade! Your hands!'' Lena suddenly yells, and Shade can see his hands flutter in and out of existence. Only instead of blue, there is red. 

''FUCK!'' He curses and locks eyes with Lenas. ''Listen to me and listen well... '' He tells her, urgency clear in his voice, and after she nods. ''GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!! RUN UP THERE!!! GOOOOOO!!!'' He yells at the top of his lungs. 

''Wha...what?'' She hesitates, confused by Shades sudden outburst. 

''GO DAMN IT! NOW!!!'' He adds an angry growl now, and she blinks away. ''Good girl...'' He falls on one knee, clutching his sides. 

''I'm here Shade!! Now what?!'' He hears from the arena speakers a few moments later. 

''Really good girl... UGH!'' He tries to tighten his grip on his sides. ''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!'' But screams the next moment and his arms shoot out to their maximum stretch jolting him upwards and a burst of red light engulfs a part of the arena, with him at the center. 

''Shaaaade...'' Is the last thing he hears before he passes out. 

Lena tries to rush back down but Winston grabs her. ''No, not yet! Look...'' He points to what is left of the buildings and cars that were nearest to Shade. Just piles of dust and rust now. 

''It's like they aged centuries in a second...'' Angela comments on what just happened. 

''Athena, do you read anything?'' Winston asks. 

''Nothing anymore. But that burst was like a fast-forward version of Slipstream.'' 

''Is it safe to get down there?'' Lena asks her. 

''Yes. No readings of anything out of ordinary.'' She responds and Winston releases Lena and she is gone, followed by Angela. 

''Hey Shade...'' Lena lightly shakes him by his shoulders. 

''Mmmmm... 5 more minutes....'' He responds, mumbling. 

''I'll give you 5 kicks in your arse, you git!!'' She punches his shoulder. 

''Hey, no need for violence.'' He sits up, rubbing his shoulder, blinking to clear the fog from his mind. ''Oh crap...'' He says when he sees the remains of the buildings and cars and shoots upright. ''No, no, no, no! Not this shit again!!!'' He starts pacing, panic clear in his voice. 

''Hey, hey Shade, look at me!'' Lena grabs his face and forces him to look at her. His eyes dart around a little longer then focus on hers. ''No one got hurt... You understand?'' She says in a calming voice, guessing correctly what was causing him to panic. 

''Fheally?'' He mumbles as Lena is squeezing his cheeks. 

''Really, really.'' She smiles and color returns to Shades face and his eyes clear out. 

''Khan I ghet mah fhace bhack?'' Lena's still putting pressure on his face. 

''Ups, sorry...'' She lets go. ''What happened? You talk like this happened before.'' 

''It did...'' He nods. ''You might've heard of Talon base vanishing off the face of the Earth couple of years ago?'' And sits back down, sighing deeply. 

''We did.'' Angela, who joined them, says. ''Until now we couldn't explain what happened.'' 

''Same thing. Only on a far larger scale.'' Shade adds his perspective. ''A lot of people died. Well, disappeared would be a better word.'' 

''Does this happen often?'' Winston asks as he joins them. 

''Not really...'' He shakes his head in response. ''Must've pushed it with not using blinking and wraiting and going through Slipstream twice.'' Then explains a bit more. 

''Winston...'' Lena looks at her friend, cradling the accelerator. Eyes wide in worry. 

''Not a chance.'' He shakes his head. ''That's why you need to recharge it, while he doesn't.'' He starts to explain. ''I saw early on, that energy from Slipstream tends to gather and can release explosively. So, I design yours so it leaks more then it can gather, hence the need to recharge. Moira seems to have missed that memo. But...'' He turns to Shade, ''You said you pushed it with not blinking and wraithing. Care to explain further?'' He asks him with a more stern voice. 

''Yeah... Sure thing. When I blink and wraith the said energy seems to release so it doesn't gather. And the other part. Traveling through Slipstream, the trick I taught Lena today, does seem to add a bit to it too. While its pretty dangerous to just experiment unsupervised with it if you could get some precise measurements done. Lena could use the same principle to keep her accelerator charged in the field indefinitely, or if you added more bite to her pistols, the excess energy could be released that way. Preventing this...'' He waves his hand around. ''All together.'' He finishes. 

''Angela, how is he?'' Winston asks after nodding to Shades explanation. 

''Clean bill of health.'' She answers. 

''Upsy daisy then...'' Lena grabs Shades hand and pulls him up. ''Can't have you sitting on your arse for the rest of the day.'' 

''Well, commander Winston, how much trouble am I in?'' He asks when he's standing. 

''None, as far as I'm concerned. Doctor Zeigler?'' 

''Same here. But it would seem we both need to examine those files Shade shared a bit more in depth. And your prediction what was coming and yelling your lungs out to get Lena out of there is a big plus for me.'' 

''Yeah. Pretty sure you saved my arse with that one, so thanks, mate.'' Lena comments and jumps a bit to bump her hips into Shades. 

''Heh.'' He chuckles. ''Gotta thank you for getting me back from that panic attack I had when I came to.'' 

''Is he alright?'' Fareehas voice sounds from the speakers and Shade looks up to them and waves, smiling. 

''Let's get out of here. Warm shower and some food sound real good to me right now. What do you think big guy?'' Lena starts, popping her shoulders, lightly elbowing Shade. 

''Heh, yeah... Sure.'' And they start heading for the exit, but after just a couple of steps, his knee buckles. ''Ugh...?'' He wonders why. 

''Here, grab on.'' Winston says when he backtracks, offering Shade to lean on his arm. 

''Thanks Winston, must be more tired then I thought...'' He pulls himself up with Winston's help. 

''No problem at all. Might as well show you your quarters and this makes a good opportunity to talk to you for a bit.'' He says that last part a bit louder so certain someone gets a hint to leave them alone for now. 

''Hey Shade you okay?'' Lucio asks when he joins them in the hallway that leads back to the sleeping quarters. 

''Yeah, that was something el... Wow?'' Hana starts but something about Shade, who is still leaning on Winston, makes her stop. 

''Something wrong?'' He asks her while giving himself quick look over before looking back at Hana. 

''Don't know... You guys didn't notice?'' Hanas sight darts to the rest of them and points to Shades face. 

''Wha...wow!'' Lena is first to react. 

''What is i...?'' Angela starts, turning to look at him, but shuts up too. 

''Hey, what is it?! You are scaring me!'' Shade panics a bit. 

''Its your eyes luv...'' 

''My eyes? Whats wrong with them? I can see norm-'' He freezes mid-sentence. The world he sees now is different from what it was moments ago. Everyone has an outline around them. Critical points where a strike would mean death and a few more to indicate where a strike would only disable them. ''Aaaaauch!'' All that data flooding his brain all at once, caused a head splintering headache, sending him crouching, clutching his head. Angela doesn't waste any time and rushes to his aid, but, ''No Doc...haaaa, this is something....haaa, I need to process... not abort.'' Shade, taking deep breaths, stops her with a raised hand. He pushes himself up, one arm pushing up from his knee, the other still on his head, he slowly opens his eyes. 

Data still flooding in and now that Angela is close enough. 

''What in Gottes Namen has she done?'' She curses with a hiss when she sees small circles and lines moving around in Shades eyes. ''Tell me Shade, what are your eyes showing you now?'' She gently cups his cheek. 

''Data... Informations... A lot of them... And its shown through a red tint... Data on every single one of you in my sight... How to kill you... How to disable you... Plans... Paths... Possible routes which I could use to get out if I need to... It's...'' Then as sudden as it came, its gone with a blink of his eyes. ''Huh? Gone now. Still have the info, but the overlay, if that what it was, is gone and the red tint too.'' So is the headache, but him standing normally and hand moving away from his head should tell that more than clearly enough. 

''Yes, and...'' Shade winces when Angela shines a penlight in his eyes. ''The cybernetics are gone as well. Like they were never there.'' 

''Okay, okay. Show's over. Off you go about your business.'' Winston start shooing them away, Lena looks at her big friend, a silent plea in her eyes, but he shakes his head. 

''Cya later then! Ta!'' She says. Turns and jogs down the hallway, followed by the rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More powers for Shade? But they seem to come with a dangerous drawback. Just what did Moira do to him? 
> 
> Chapter 12 sneak peek:  
> \----- ''Shade, I am detecting a Talon aircraft on approach. It's a small 2 seater fighter.'' Athena notifies him. 
> 
> ''And that has something to do with me because?'' He grunts, pulling a blanket over his head. 
> 
> ''Because even though it has cloaking capability, it's not using it, nor are its weaponry online. Which leads me to believe it might be here for you. A certain french lady behind the controls.'' She answers, sounding quite playful at the end.-----


	12. Spider needs to visit the docteur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade settles in. His lover has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy.

''We seem to have missed quite a lot, didn't we Winston?'' Angela says when she, Winston and Shade, who is still leaning on him, resume walking. 

''I would appear so.'' The scientist nods. ''At first, it looks so simple. Just a simple adaptation of my design so it can be implanted. But with far fewer safety measures in place. Now, even if we chalk the wraithing to SEP. There are at least two things that those alone don't explain.'' He turns to look at the man leaning on his shoulder when he finishes that. 

''Heh...'' He chuckles. ''This eyes thingy happened for the first time. The burst...'' He sighs, hanging his head apologetically. ''Maybe I could've given you a warning about the possibility. Still hoped it won't happen.'' He smiles weakly as he lifts his head to look at the gorilla. 

''I expect you in my office, first thing when you get up.'' Angela tells Shade when they stopped at the part of the hallway that splits into two possible ways. The order, not a request, clear in her voice. ''I only looked for normal vitals the first time around. Now I seem to need to take a deeper look.'' 

''If it's gonna help answer some question I have myself, I will make sure I do.'' He nods in affirmation. 

''Then I take my leave. Goodbye. And get some rest, you look like scheisse.'' She smiles, turns and leaves the duo. 

''To be honest, I feel like crap too.'' Shade mutters when Winston helps him walk the other way. 

''You understand german?'' Curiosity gets the better of him after they walked down the hall a bit.

''And french.'' Shade grins. ''How do you think I snagged Widowmaker?'' Taking a few test steps on his own to see if his legs can support him now. 

''About that... I hope that your involvement with her won't cause problems for us?'' Winston quirks an eyebrow when he looks at Shade. 

''None whatsoever. But I might leave on my own sometimes. Still have a running business. Matter of fact, I have something to do tomorrow already.'' He remembers he is meeting with Reaper tomorrow. 

''Business?'' 

''Yes.'' Shade nods. ''Mercenary work. Me and Widow. But less you know about it, better off you guys are.'' 

''Shady side of the law?'' 

''Sometimes not, sometimes very.'' 

''And it won't be traced back to us?'' 

''Not a chance. Noone ever knows who did the job. They leave the contract on the net, we go in, do it, some money trades hands or accounts. After that, all data or information about it disappears.'' 

''Disappears?'' 

''Curiosity killed the cat, my friend.'' Shade laughs, winking at Winston. 

''Ah, haha, okay. Won't inquire further then.'' Winston chuckles, then realizes that they reached Shades new quarters, ''Here we are.'' 

When the doors opened it revealed a decently spacious room. Inside was everything one would need to live comfortably here or catch a quick R&R before heading out again. Queen sized bed dominated the right side of it, shelves above it. Nightstands, with a lamp on top, flanking it on each side. A table where two could really stretch out or four would still fit to sit around for a meal at the center of the room. The right side has a small kitchenette, with a sink, small fridge and couple of heater plates, where one could warm up a drink or cook something simple. A small shower room is tucked in the back corner and closer to the entrance was a desk with a computer and a what look liked almost new office chair. The whole place needed a good dusting, which spoke about it not being in use for some time. 

''Previous tenants left a while ago?'' Shade asks. 

''One could say that. This was commander Morrisons room before he took command of Overwatch. Then the office came with adjacent living quarters and so its been empty since.'' 

''Hm... You chose this room on purpose or just because it was empty?'' 

''Interesting you ask. But the decision was made by Athena and now that you mentioned it, I am curious why this room specifically.'' 

''Certainly won't look a gifted horse in the mouth so, if you will excuse me...'' Shade walks inside. ''Need to give this place a good scrubbing, take a shower and get some shut-eye.'' 

''Of course. Have a pleasant evening and if you need anything ask Athena...'' Winston points to a computer that came on by itself, Athena's logos starting to turn on the screen. 

''Will do. Will need a transport to my business tomorrow so if you got one to spare that would be grand.'' 

''Would a small single person flyer do?'' Athena inquires in Winston's stead. 

''Yeah, plus its probably faster than the Orcas.'' 

''It is. And it's being prepared for your usage as we speak.'' 

''Thank you, both of you. Now....'' Shade wanted to end the discussion there, but Winston leaned to the side when he felt something poking him at his hind leg. And a small army of drones rushed in and started to clean the room, starting with the shower room. 

''Okay...'' Shade gives a quizzical look to Winston, who shakes his head and again points to Athenas logo with a shrug. 

''Shower room is done.'' She chirps after a few moments, adding, ''Rest should be completed while you shower and drones will promptly vacate the room as soon as they are done.'' 

''Heh, gotta get a set of these for our place back in France, they are quite handy.'' Shade comments with a smile. 

''If you won't mind my presence there, I could activate a few. But would need a rough size estimate of the place as drones need to recharge after a while.'' Athena offers. 

''Would have to run it by Widow first, but I think she shouldn't mind. Now... Shower. Goodbye Winston.'' 

''Goodbye Shade.'' Winston then turns and walks away. Shade heads towards the shower, cleans up and as told the drones were done with the rest and are gone when he came back, so the only thing left to do was hit the pillow hard and shut down for the day.

 

''Where the he...'' He tenses up for a moment then relaxes when his brain boots up. ''Oh, right.'' And just when he was thinking of rolling over and catch a quick nap. 

''Shade, I am detecting a Talon aircraft on approach. It's a small 2 seater fighter.'' Athena notifies him. 

''And that has something to do with me _because_?'' He grunts, pulling a blanket over his head. 

''Because even though it has cloaking capability, it is not using it. Nor are its weaponry online. Which leads me to believe it might be here for you. A certain french lady behind the controls.'' She answers, sounding quite playful at the end. 

''Ah...'' He shoots upright. ''Anyone else knows about it?'' Then gets out of bed and starts getting dressed. 

''Not yet, but I am about to notify Winston and Dr. Zeigler.'' 

''Okay. Please tell Doc I'll need to reschedule that check-up. I seem to be leaving earlier then I planned.'' 

''Will do. I granted the pilot the landing pad 5. Its the furthest from the main building. I'll light the path to it from your room.'' 

''Thank you and tell Winston, if he can, he could come to see me off. Was thinking of making the first introduction, and he is the most neutral of the bunch.'' Shade walks outside the room and Athena switches her voice from in-room speakers to the ones in the hallway. 

''Understood and you are welcome Agent Slipstream.'' 

''Agent Slipstream huh?'' 

''Yes. Considering you didn't provide either your last name nor a callsign I decided on this one.'' She sounds quite cheery saying that, as if she is really satisfied with herself. 

''I like it. Shade Slipstream...'' He smiles. ''Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?'' Then he starts following the lights that direct him towards his destination. 

''Glad you like it.'' She responds but a beep at the end indicates that she left him to his own devices. At least for now. After a short walk Shade arrives at the door marked in a way that tells one that landing pad number 5 is just beyond. 

''Good morning Shade.'' Winston calls from behind. 

''Morning Winston and apparently I'm Agent Slipstream now.'' He laughs while responding. ''So Shade Slipstream, hahaha, courtesy of a certain cheeky lady.'' Opening the doors, he gestures to Winston to join him outside. 

''Hahaha.'' Winston laughs too and joins Shade as they walk outside. ''I was notified of it too and yes she can be quite playful with words.'' Talon fighter making its landing outside. 

Shade walks towards it when the engines shut off and canopy starts opens. Its pilot climbing out of the cockpit. 

''Morning love. This is a pleasant surprise.'' Shade says while helping her climb to the ground. 

''Oui mon amour. I thought it would be.'' She hugs him tightly as soon as she reaches the ground. ''Missed you.'' 

''Missed you too.'' They share a quick kiss then turn towards Winston that waits at the edge of the pad and Shade waves his hand for him to come closer. With a nod he does. 

''Even if you are familiar with each other already... Winston, Widowmaker... Widowmaker, Winston.'' Shade introduces the two to each other and Widow offers a handshake. 

''We are. And I am pleased that it's not on the business end of the Kiss this time.'' Winston says as he shakes Widows hand, chuckling a bit. 

''Yes, same here.'' She responds with a smile of her own. 

''I must confess though, that I was quite surprised when he said you two were involved. We all were.'', Winston continues the conversation when they stopped shaking hands. 

''I can see how that might come as a surprise. But I must say I am not the quite the same woman I was before I met him, in quite a few ways.'' She smiles again, winking to Shade, then continues. ''I was expecting Dr. Zeigler to be here as well. Is she otherwise occupied?'' 

''No, but I think Athena told her to not to come. Considering the history between the two of you.'' Winston answers. 

''I understand. Still, I need to ask her for something. With your permission, I would like to visit her office.'' That gets her weird looks from both Shade and Winston. 

''There is more to your visit than just picking me up for my meeting today.'' Shade says offering an arm lock. 

''There is indeed.'' She responds, locking arms with Shade. 

''If so, then please, follow me.'' Winston says, turning and gesturing for them to follow but stops when he remembers something. ''No weapons though.'' He looks over his shoulder. 

''I have none.'' 

''Then let's go. Angela should be notified already.'' 

''Agent Slipstream, back already?'' Athena chirps when they step inside. 

''Slipstream?'' Widow quirks an eyebrow at Shade. 

''Her idea, not mine.'' He defends himself, pointing to the ceiling. 

''It fits.'' 

''In more than one way.'' Winston comments walking few steps ahead. 

''Winston! Shade!'' Lena calls out, turning the corner. ''Oh...'' But spots Widow, that was hidden from her sight behind Winston's bulk a moment before. 

''Ah, the annoyance appears.'' She smirks. 

''Be nice.'' Shade nudges her playfully. 

''I shall be a _perfect_ picture of a lady.'' She retorts, grinning mischievously. 

''I..um..yes..right! Lena.'' She stumbles over her words, not really sure what to do but decides on introduction. Offering a handshake, her cheeks starting to go a bit rosey, which causes Widow to chuckle. 

''Widowmaker.'' Taking Lena's hand and kissing the knuckles, she responds. 

''Haaaa...'' Lena's face is burning at this point. 

''Just the reaction I was hoping for, chérie.'' Widow winks at Lena. 

''Hahahaha.'' Shade and Winston just laugh at their antics. 

''You were right mon amour.'' Widow looks at Shade with a face-wide grin, ''I do like her.'' 

''Brrrrrr....'' Lena shakes her head to clear it out. ''Oi! Not fair. At least warn me that she is coming.'' She gives Shade mocking stink eyes. 

''Didn't know, I swear.'' Shade responds, lifting his hands above his shoulders as if surrendering. 

''Grrrr...'' She growls, Then looks at the Widow. ''Anyway. What are you doing here, luv?'' 

''One, picking up Shade for his meeting today. Two, I need to ask Dr. Zeigler something.'' 

''Mind if I stick around? Don't have anything else to do anyway.'' 

''Ah, chérie. I have been here for 5 minutes and you can not go without me already?'' Widow teases, scruffing Lena's hair a bit, as they walk side by side. 

''Oi, frenchy. Firstly, I have a girlfriend, secondly...'' That is just lost as she melts under Widows caress. 

''Hopeless.'' Widow smirks but keeps scruffing for a little bit. 

''Tall, dark and with this accent, if remember correctly, Lena?'' Shade teases her too as they continue to walk down the hallway. 

''C'mon, not you too.'' She whimpers. ''Plus its the arse I noticed first...'' Her mouth gets ahead of her brain again. 

''HAHAHAHA!'', Shade explodes, Winston is shaking with laughter too, walking ahead of them. 

''Mon Dieu chérie!'' Widow mocks surprise, and Lena's face is red as a cooked lobster again when she clasps her mouth with her hands. 

''Hahaha, c'mon speedy.'' Shade moves to the other side and puts an arm around Lena's shoulders, ''We know you got a weakness for gorgeous, tall, french women.'' 

''Not just french I'll have you know.'' Lena recovers and smiles, ''And apparently not just women too.'' Then nuzzles into Shade, who taps his accelerator when Widow looks at him with a raised eyebrow and she nods in understanding. 

''Here we are.'' Winston says when they reach the medical bay. 

''Lena I need your help with something.'' He looks at her, still flanked by Shade and Widow, looking almost like a child between the two as they are both taller than her. 

''Okay, cya later luvs!'' She waves and follows Winston down the corridor.

 

''Doc, it's me and Widow. I believe you were told we would be coming.'' Shade says while knocking. 

''May I have a few moments alone with the docteur please?'' Widow asks him when the doors open and Angela waves them in. 

''Em... Sure. I'll wait outside then.'' 

''Merci. I shouldn't be long.'' She kisses him on the cheek then steps inside, doors closing behind her. 

''Bonjour docteur.'' She greets her. 

''Hello Widow...'' She responds, gesturing for her to sit down. ''How may I help you?'' She keeps the professional face on, the situation awkward for both of them. 

''I am feeling a bit sick for a couple of mornings now. Did a test. But I want you to confirm it.'' Widow lays a hand on her abdomen, following it with her eyes, then looks back up. ''Because I do not know how it is even possible.'' 

''Mein gott...'' Angela's eyes go wide, as she gasps, realizing what Widow is asking of her. She smiles gently, stands up and walks next to Widow ''But of course. Here.'' She offers Widow a hand to help her stand up. ''I'm just gonna do a quick scan. Should tell us everything.'' 

''D'accord.'' She takes it and stands. 

''Now hold perfectly still for a moment...'' Angela instructs. Then reaches for a circular device on her desk and hovers it over Widows abdomen in a circular motion. After a few short moments, she smiles more gently then she ever did before. ''My answer is yes.''. She answers the question that is written all over Widow's face. 

''Haaaa...'' Who exhales deeply and sits back on the chair. 

''But how? With what Talon did to me...'' Her eyes water and tears start to run down her cheeks, ''I-it-it should not be possible.'' Yet a smile of joy and happiness is decorating her face. 

''Can't tell you anything about that, but I can yet again confirm it with certainty.'' Angela tells her, offering paper tissues, before continuing. ''And if you would accept, I volunteer to be the doctor in charge.'' Walking around the table, she sits in her chair. 

''I don't know anyone more qualified as you docteur Zeigler...'' Widow accepts her offer, wiping her cheeks and nose while nodding. 

''Should we call him in now?'' Angela ask her when she calms down a bit, flicking her sight and head towards the doors, behind which, she assumes, Shade is waiting. 

After taking a couple of deep breaths, Widow nods. ''Yes, I believe I am ready.'' 

Doors slide open when Angela presses the button on her desk. ''Shade, could you come in please?'' She calls for him. 

''Yeah...'' He takes a step in, ''Oh?'' But stops when he sees Widows face, then makes two large strides towards her and grabs her hands in his. ''Something wrong sweetheart? C'mon talk to me.'' Worry and urgency clear in his voice and on his face. 

''Non, mon amour.'' She shakes her head. ''Everything is... Magnifique, if anything.'' Her face shines when she says that and Shade gives a quick glance towards Angela, who shakes her head and gestures a silent Not my thing to tell, it's hers. 

''Okay, what is it then?'' Shade kneels on one knee. She simply frees one of her hands, grabs one of Shades and places it on her abdomen. Shades brow knits as if he is on the right track, but he tilts his head, not being quite sure. But when Widow almost reads his mind and nods with a wide smile, her eyes watering up again, tears flow down her cheeks in the next moment, his eyes just go wide with realization. 

''Congratulations to both of you.'' Angela says. 

But Shade never heard that. His mind went blank, any thought he might have been thinking grinds to a complete stop. ''Auch!'' He whimpers when his ass hits the floor. Pain bringing his head back to functioning state. ''Haaaaaaaa...'' He exhales, when he spills fully on the floor, his limbs stretched completely outwards. ''Me... No!'' He starts but stops then jumping to his feet, he straightens up. Takes Widows hand in his again and pulls her into a hug. ''We... parents?'' He looks straight in her golden eyes. 

''Mhm.'' Is everything she gets out, smiling, tears still flowing and Shade tightens his hug. 

''But how?'' He wonders out loud when loosens the hug. ''With me as I am and you with what Talon did to you?'' 

''Don't know, but docteur confirmed it moments ago. And...'' Widow gently pushes completely free of the hug to wipe her face, then continues. But still holds one of Shades hands. ''She offered to be the docteur in charge of the whole thing, and I accepted.'' 

''Of course, can't think of a better person myself.'' He nods, a face wide smile on his face. ''But that would mean...'' 

''That would mean that I am moving here with you and will do so by the day's end. Hoping for a few pairs of helping hands.'' She finishes his thoughts and they both to look at Angela. 

''Absolutely. You should ask Reinhardt, he is all heart and if you tell him why you are moving, he should be more than happy to help, as will Brigitte. Lena will for sure, Fareeha, even if a bit grumpy, owes one to Shade, so she should agree too.'' Angel lists a few people that would be willing to help them. 

''Rein would probably move the whole château, if you asked him to.'' Shade chuckles. ''Brigitte is quite a heavy lifter herself, as is Fareeha. Lena not so much but she can speed things up with little things and keep the atmosphere cheery.'' And ticks the team on his fingers. 

''Château?'' Angela wonders out loud. 

''Qui, Château Guillard, where I and Shade live. Well, lived. Until today, it would seem.'' Widow answers her. 

''And Talon? They sure have that location marked as yours. Hardly a place to stay out of their sights.'' 

''Qui, they do. But after a few, let us call them _négociations agressives_ , they abandoned the pursuit of retrieving it or me.'' Widow grins. 

''Aggressive negotiations?'' Angelas quirks an eyebrow while smiling knowingly how those probably took place. 

And Widow doesn't leave her hanging, ''Kiss was quite busy on those but that's a story for another day, perhaps?'' She leans on Shade and he lightly squeezes with his arm around her waist. 

''Of course, today we celebrate a new life, not revisiting the loss of the past.'' She claps her hands and stands up, shaking hands with newly announced parents and they all leave her office after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think most of the french words are self-explanatory so I won't bother with translations.
> 
> Holy crap! Who saw that coming?! Widow pregnant?! To be honest I didn't also. The idea came to me out of the blue and it evolved beyond that. But a few things need to happen first. Hope you guys like reading this at least half as much as I like writing it. Also now we know where the Slipstream part came from. Heh.
> 
> Sneak peek into chapter 13:  
> \-----''Excuse m- Wow!'' A sword of some sort comes swinging, Shade catches it. But the plasma emitter on its edge goes through his glove like nothing and starts burning his palm. Can't cut through due to his regeneration but still hurts. It gets pulled back just as fast as it came. 
> 
> ''Cor blimey Shade! You scared the wits out of me!'' A female voice says, but due to it being muffled by the helmet, he can't quite place it. 
> 
> ''Do I know you?'' He crosses his arms in front and tilts his head.-----


	13. Sentinel and Reaper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade recruits a new member and meets a potential one too.

Splitting from Widow and Angela, Shade heads back towards the plane that Widow used to get here. In the meanwhile they headed for the main hangar to gather the moving team. ''Oh... So she did bring it with her...'' Shade thinks out loud when he enters the cockpit and sees the Kiss fixed in place behind the seats. ''Hey love...'' He says when she answers her phone. ''You left the Kiss here, want me to swing by and drop it off for you?'' 

''I do not think I will need it, but better safe then sorry they say.'' 

''Alright, be there in a sec.'' He cuts the call after that. Starts up the fighter lifts off and starts flying towards the main hangar. When he gets there he uses its hover ability to stay in place, giving the gathering below a good look at the once Talons fighter. Small but fast, well armored, armed to the teeth, it's their latest series. ''THERE YOU ARE...'' He shouts over the roar of the engines, spotting Widow holding her hair out of her eyes. ''Catch!'' 

''Got it.'' She responds, giving Shade a thumbs up and grabs her falling rifle and slings it on her back with one smooth move. 

''Love you, bye!'' Shade waves goodbye sits back down. The canopy closes and he blasts off, punching the throttle to the max. Mere moments later he is a spot on the sky for the team that stands at the main hangar doors. An Orca transport is starting up and is being moved outside. 

''I thought you said you were unarmed.'' Fareeha is first to speak, worry and a touch of fear clear in her voice. 

''I was. Now I am not anymore. Will this cause problems?'' Widow responds. Then adds, ''She is perfectly well behaved while she is on my back...'' She taps the Kiss's strap, grin creeps on her face before she continues, ''It's when she comes on my shoulder that she goes wild. But worry not. I promised Shade I will never look at any of you through her scope again and I intend to honor that if that will make you feel any better.'' A gentle smile replaces the grin on her face. 

''Does make me feel a bit better, yes.'' Fareeha nods. 

''Ha! Come on mom, time is wasting. Let us move.'' Reinhardt puts his hand on Widows' shoulder when he walked over, accidentally letting slip her condition. 

''MOM?!?'' The rest say in chorus, eyes wide on all. 

''Ups!'' Rein looks down at Widow with apologetic eyes. 

''It is quite all right...'' She taps his hand on her shoulder, looking up at him. ''They would find out later today anyway.'' She looks at the others. ''And yes, I am with child. That is the reason for my move here. So docteur Zeigler can keep a close eye on the process.'' She explains. 

''Awww, that's so sweet! Congrats!'' Lena chirps, jumping towards Widow, shaking her hand. An endless ball of energy like she always is. 

''It is indeed chérie.'' She smiles at the teleporter and winks, ''Can I count on you for babysitting if necessary?'' 

''Yeah, of course!'' Lena nods and pumps up her chest. ''You can count on me, luv.'' 

''Heh, congratulation from me too.'' Brigitte is next, a bittersweet smile on her face. 

''Thank you...'' She leans closer to whisper in Brigitte's ear, ''And would you like to be the child's godmother?'' 

''Shades idea?'' Brigitte asks.

Widow moves away, shaking her head. ''No, mine but I am sure he would agree.'' 

''It would be my honor.'' She responds, smiling, her eyes watering a bit. 

''Well, I never thought I'll see the day, but congratulations from me too.'' Fareeha is the last and shakes Widows hand too. 

''Understandable, thank you.'' 

''Now my friends, let us move!'' Reinhardt's voice thunders, urging them to start moving to the Orca that is now ready for take-off and they all board it. A cheery atmosphere surrounding them and Widow can't help but smile at this gathering. 

A german giant, her beloved's ex, daughter of a woman whose eye she shot out and Lena. All laughing and talking between themselves and with her. She now realizes why Shade never doubted that she would be welcomed here. Sure her condition might have helped push things in the good direction, but still, would they not be so open-hearted they would have shut her down and shoved her in a prison cell the moment Shade left. Paid hell for doing so when he would come back. Most, if not all ending up dead if her past experience when she was in danger and Shade went completely ballistic protecting her is anything to go by. But no. Here they are, in a troop transport, heading towards her home to help her pack things for her move to their base. Laughing, chatting, having a good time all around.

 

Somewhere in the sky ahead of them, Shade was still blasting the engines on full, reaching Dover cliffs in record time. London coming into his view soon after. Why Widow set the meeting in the Row was beyond him. Not losing another thought on it, he turned the cloaking on and slowed down to find a decent size roof to land on. Spotting one he turns the plane to head there and just as his landing gears touch the roof a flash of red light on his right gets his attention. 

''Hm...'' He follows the bulky shape with his sight. ''Reaper can wait for a while.'' He mutters to himself then opens the canopy and jumps out. He sets the plane on autopilot, which causes it to close the canopy and fly off to somewhere where it can be hidden away from any prying eyes. The original didn't have that option. This one has it since Shades contact got their hands on it. 

''Impressive.'' He says out loud as he keeps following the shape with his eyes as it runs along the rooftops at quite a pace, despite wearing what looks like a really bulky armor. He is behind it a blink later but it would seem that they didn't notice him. 

''Excuse m-'' His hand shoots out, ''Wow!'' When a sword of a sort comes swinging. He catches it, but the plasma emitter on its edge goes through his glove like nothing and starts burning his palm. Can't cut through due to his regeneration, but it still hurts. 

It gets pulled back just as fast as it came, ''Cor blimey, Shade! You scared the wits out of me!'' A female voice says, but due to it being muffled by the helmet, he can't quite place it. 

''Do I know you?'' He crosses his arms in front and tilts his head. 

''Oh, right!'' She starts pulling off her helmet. And first thing Shade sees are red locks. Only after she pushed the hair away does he see a freckled face, pair of green eyes and a face-wide grin. 

''Emily?!'' He exhales in surprise. 

''One and only.'' She responds with a coy smile. 

''Not really a surprise but it still is.'' He checks her from head to toes and back up again, slowly raising an eyebrow. 

''Oh c'mon...'' She exhales, but Shade only adds a head tilt. ''Okay, okay.'' She gives in. ''It started as a pet project, just to see if I can build it. But after Lena came back covered in bruises and I had to chase away her nightmares more often than not, I decided to do something to ease her load. So one night I just put it one and went out. Saw couple of thugs beating this poor omnic. Stopped them.'' The cocky grin comes back, ''Sure I like the feeling of power but what really got to me was when that omnic, half his face bent in from a blow, looked at me and thanked me. It's when I got the name too.'' She pauses, looking at Shade, checking for any reaction, but he doesn't move a muscle. ''Sentinel.'' 

''Someone who guards, who protects, who keeps watch.'' Shade describes her callsign. 

''Yes, that.'' She nods. ''And so I just did it. Every night when Lena was out, I put it on and went out to keep watch.'' 

''Hm.'' He taps a finger on his chin, thinking of something. ''Besides the sword, what's your arsenal?'' He asks, pointing to it. 

''This plasma pistol.'' She shows a pistol that could match McCrees revolver any day. ''A pulse rifle, AT missile launcher and an energy shield.'' Then ticks the rest on her fingers. 

''And you are skilled in using all of them?'' 

''Some more, some less.'' 

''Well then.'' Shades eyes narrow when he reached the decision in his mind. ''If you want, pack your bags, quit your current job and be ready for a pick up in about an hour. Give or take a couple of minutes.'' He offers. 

''Wha-what?'' Emily totally confused. 

''An opening showed up in my company just today and was thinking instead of closing it temporarily, you could fill in. Pay is good, hours not so much. But for at least a while we will be operating out of Gibraltar. Meaning you will be with Lena and the rest of the gang almost 24/7.'' He explains his offer. 

''Can I think about it?'' 

''Until my meeting is over. I like to make these decisions on the fly. And from what I saw and felt...'' He shows her his ruined glove, ''You would fit right in. If not in my company then in Overwatch for sure.'' 

''Your company is not exactly on the lawful side of things is it?'' 

''On both moral and law side of things, very grey. At least some jobs. Others are white as fresh snow.'' Shade shrugs, then repeats his question, ''So what do you think?'' Offering a handshake. 

''You know what? I'm in. Lena might not be too thrilled, but she should understand.'' She shakes Shades hand with a serious look. 

''Then meet me on the roof of your apartment building in about an hour. I'll give you a call when I'm done with my meeting.'' He tells her, turning towards the edge of the roof. 

''Alright.'' 

''Cya then...'' He waves over his shoulder. ''Sentinel.'' 

''See ya...'' She pauses, thinking Shade can't be his callsign. 

''Slipstream.'' He chuckles, one foot on the edge. 

''Slipstream? Really?'' 

''Really. I know but considering...'' Taps his chest piece, and starts to scan the streets below. 

''It fits. Plus Slipstream Sentinel has a nice ring to it, don't you think?'' She adds, laughing. 

''Almost better then Slipstream Widowmaker, almost.'' He grins back, second foot joins the first on the edge. 

''Wait, who?'' 

''Got to go! Hahaha!'' Shade laughs as he jumps off only to wraith to the street level then blinks down the street but starts walking normally as soon as he is out of her sight. 

 

''That must be the place...'' He mutters, spotting a pub, tucked in between a couple of taller buildings. Walking in, it looks like its abandoned, but he spots the reason why no one beside the barkeep is here. Even he is polishing a glass, trying to mask his fear. ''Hey Smokey, what's your poison?'' Shade calls out to a man wearing a black coat, hood over his head and a mask covering his face, tapping the table with the claws on his glove. 

''Fine, then I'll choose. Bottle of your best whiskey and one more of your best tequila.'' He tells the barkeep when the man just shrugs. ''There you go.'' He pays for them, along with leaving a healthy tip. Then grabs the bottles and goes to sit across from the only other guest in the pub. 

''So?'' Reaper starts. 

''Hold that thought. Drinks first, otherwise I might be throwing you out the window within the next minute.'' Shade snarls back, getting a deep growl from Reaper. ''Look...'' Shade points his index finger towards Reaper and focuses his sight on the slits in the mask behind which Reapers eyes are. ''I told her I'll try to behave, don't make me fail within the first 5 minutes and drink.'' He then opens both bottles and starts chugging right out of whiskey one. Emptying one third, he then pours himself a glass and sets it on the table in front of himself, gesturing Reaper to do the same. Reaper complies with the tequila one after removing his mask. 

''You know, I could try to fix that...'' Shade tells him, gesturing to his badly scarred face, that looks like someone took it through a meat grinder and then put it back together in a rush, when Reaper lowers the bottle. ''Might hurt like a bitch for a moment though...'' He adds when Reaper pulls off his hood too, ''At least you will be able to walk around without the mask on all the time.'' 

''Heh'' Reaper cackles. ''Moira took a crack at it already, only made it worse.'' He responds, shrugging. ''But what tha hell. Sure, give it shoot.'' He did miss the feeling of wind on his face and the mask blocked his peripheral vision, hindering him in combat. 

''Okay.'' Shade stretched his arm across the table, places it on his face and used some of his Slipstream skills to rewind the time. Reapers hands shoot up and grab his, claws digging in to the flesh, as he growls from pain, but Shade doesn't even twitch. ''There you go...'' He says when he is done. ''Now can I have my arm back?'', Reapers hands are still holding on to his arm like a vice. 

''Yea-'' Surprised by the change of his voice, that returned to his normal one, he stops, but lowers his hands anway. ''Got a mirror or something?'' 

''Will a phone camera do?'' Shade pulls out his phone and sets the front camera to display what it's seeing on the screen. 

''Damn.'' Reaper curses, when he sees his face. ''Thank you.'' Then thanks Shade with a nod. 

''No problem. Take it as a gift for a better relationship in the future. Now let's talk about why we are really here.'' Shade says. 

''Right.'' Reaper pulls a data chip out of his pocket ''Here...'' And slides it across the table. Shade catches it and puts in his pocket. ''Moira really has a target painted on her. Thought you might want to know, considering...'' 

''Talon?'' 

''Came from the top.'' 

''Fucking Akande!'' Shade slams his fist into the metal table, putting a dent into it. ''I thought he would learn after Numbani...'' 

''Well, I did. After Oasis.'' Reaper scratches his jaw, trying to bring Shade back down from his anger as he began to smoke and the accelerator lights began to shine brightly enough to show through his shirt. 

It works and Shade returns to fully corporeal, lights dimming enough to hide again. ''Yeah. She told me about the aftermath.'' He grins. 

''You got one mean right hoo-'' Reaper starts saying but something Shade just said doesn't quite fit. ''Wait, she?'' 

''Widowmaker.'' 

''So that's where she went.'' 

''You didn't know?'' 

''No, they kept most of us in the dark about her. Kept anyone that ever worked with her away from retrieval missions too.'' 

''For the better. None of those guys returned neither did the tech they brought with.'' 

''Damn.'' Reaper curses in surprise but then thinks about it. ''But not really. Between your abilities and hers. They never stood a chance.'' 

''None what so ever.'' 

''How is she?'' He asks next and Shade can see he is honestly worried about her. ''She was one of the two I considered a teammate.'' 

''Great. But I'll go into details sometime later.'' Shade answers but keeps the newest developments under wraps for now. ''So Moira... How much time do I have before Talon starts moving?'' 

''2 weeks, a month tops.'' Reaper pours himself a glass of tequila and downs it in one go.

''Okay, not much time, but I can work with that.'' Shade follows suit.

''Sounds like you have a plan already.'' 

''Yes I do. And if you want out, I can include that too.'' 

''Even if I do, what then?'' 

''You work for me...'' Shade starts but changes his mind. ''No, with me. My company is always in need of skilled individuals that don't mind doing some wet work.'' 

''Overwatch?'' Reaper ventures, but already knows the answer. 

Shade chuckles, ''Nah, they are too saintly for most of the contracts we get. The catch is, I would want you to keep an eye on Moira.'' 

''Hm...'' 

''Place to stay. Warm meals. Pay is divided equally between the members on the job. If you do it on your own, you keep most of it, a little always goes for the running costs of the company.'' 

''I've been paying attention to your moves since Oasis. There is a purpose behind them.'' Reaper says in response and his eyes narrow with focus on Shade. ''Can't tell what it is exactly, but its there. And now this...'' 

''Heh, smart man... Yeah, there is. But all I'm gonna say for now is that a storm is brewing, big one and leave it at that. Your answer?'' 

''Heh, sure.'' Reaper offers a handshake, which Shade takes. ''That looks nasty.'' Reaper says when he spots the tear in Shades glove. 

''No damage done, but I did have a run in with someone just before I got here.'' Shade answers with a chuckle then glances at the clock on the wall. ''Oh shit, that's the time?!'' An hour passed in a flash. ''Gotta run. Keep the bottle. I'll contact you when I start to move on Moira's case.'' Shade jumps out of the chair, grabs the whiskey bottle and half runs towards the exit, making it to the door, when, 

''Hey!'' Reaper calls after him. ''Thanks again for this.'' He points to his face when Shade turns. 

''No problem. Cya!'' He is out the door moments later. On the roof where Emily is waiting, within a minute, 

 

''Boo!'' He scares her again, sneaking behind her. This time out of her suit, a fist comes flying, hitting Shade in his face. 

''Auch!'' He rubs his jaw. 

''Then stop scaring me!'' Emily says loudly, but there is no real heat in her voice. 

''Hahaha, noted.'' He laughs, adding, ''That's one heck of an arm you got there, both fast and strong.'' 

''Grew up in a rough neighborhood, plus having 6 brothers to keep out of my hair....'' A sound of engines cuts her off, and downdraft starts blowing her hair all over the place. 

''You chariot has arrived, ma'am.'' Shade says, smiling, when the engines cut and the canopy opens, seemingly out of thin air. 

''Cases?'' 

''Cargo hold. Here.'' Shade grabs one case, opens another hatch on the belly of the cloaked craft. 

''Handy.''

''Very. Need a hand getting up there?'' He asks when they put everything in and sees Emily probing the air for something with her hand. 

''Would be easier if I could see it.'' 

''Here.'' Shade gently grabs Emily's hand and places it on the first of the handles that lead up to the cockpit. ''Comfy?'' He asks when they settle in, Emily strapping herself in. 

''Quite actualy.'' 

''Heh, won't be in a minute.'' He chuckles, a playful grin shows up on his face, when the fighter start to take off. And as soon as he turns it into the direction they are headed, he opens up the throttle to full. 

''Wooooooooo! Yeah!!!'' Emily screams in delight, surprising him with a completely opposite reaction he thought she will have. 

''Hahaha, can't say I saw that coming!'' 

''What?! This is fuckin' awesome!'' Emily responds. Loving every second of it. 

''Ah! Was hoping we would catch up.'' Shade slows down when he spots something about half a minute later. 

''Huh? To whom?'' 

''To them.'' Shade points to a bigger plane ahead and to their right, Overwatch logo on its side. ''Wanna wave hi to your girlfriend? Gonna be fun seeing the face she makes when she sees you in here.'' 

''Lena?'' 

''Yeah, she is probably piloting it.'' 

''Sure!'' 

And Shade maneuvers their plane, tilting it slightly so the pilot of the Orca can get a good look at them. 

When she notices that is. ''Ugh, enjoying it too much, is she?'' He grunts when Lena keeps her sight straight ahead. ''This should get her attention.'' He unlocks the safety on his guns and fires a short burst and both he and Emily laugh when Lena jumps in surprise. 

''Heya, sweet!'' Emily waves when Lena looks at them. 

''Ems!?'' They can read her lips, eyes going wide. Shade taps his coms, connecting the two planes. 

''What tha hell, Shade!?'' Is the first thing Lena says when the coms connect. 

''I'll let her explain, but know that I will keep her safe. How did things go on your end?'' 

''Perfectly. Oh, and congratulations.'' Lena says back, face wide smile on her face. 

''Heh, thanks. Guess the cat is out of the bag then.'' 

''Clue me in please.'' Emily joins the conversation. 

''One moment.'' Shade engages the communication scrambler, as they were on an open line. 

''He and Widow are gonna have a baby!'' Lena beats him to it. 

''That the opening you mentioned?'' Emily smirks. 

''Yeah, heh.'' 

''Well, congratulations, and...'' 

''Hold on just a mo'!'' Lena interrupts her. ''What opening?'' 

''Say hi to the newest member of Shades company and Overwatch team, sweet. Sentinel.'' Emily answers, grinning like a cat with cream.

''What?! No, no, no, no. Ems, no!'' Lena won't have any of it. 

''Listen pet. I've had it with worrying sick when you go out, only to come back covered with bruises if your nightmares aren't enough.'' 

''Shade...'' Lena snarls through her teeth. ''Better keep her safe. I will never forgive you if anything happens to her.'' But softens up and concedes. 

''Promise.'' He says firmly, nodding. 

''Will hold you to that. Now, wanna talk to Widow?'' 

''Nah, this bus of yours is so slow, Emily here will fall asleep on me if we fly so slowly for much longer.'' He says, Emily jawning jokingly. 

''Ugh...'' Lena rolls her eyes. ''Fine, see ya back in base then.'' 

''What is it she says again...'' Shade readies a two finger salute, glancing at Emily, who does the same. 

''Ta!'' They both say in unison, Shade opens up the throttle again and they speed off. 

''Yeaaaaah!!'' Emily yells while they are still in coms range. 

''Cheeky gits!'' They hear Lena respond with a laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 14:  
> \-----''And none of us would even let you, especially Angie.'' Lena says firmly. 
> 
> ''No such problems here...'' Brigitte grins. ''And I think both Fareeha and Zarya would want a round too if they heard that.'' She adds and they all laugh at that.-----


	14. Old grudges die hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry guys, but I just noticed there is a whole chapter missing between 13 and 14. The fastest way to fix it was to put the would be 14 here. Sorry.
> 
> Shade and Emily landed and decided to show Emily's armor to the gang coming in behind them.

''Hey Lena, who were you talking to?'' Brigitte asks her when she joins her, overhearing her just before the line cut. 

''Just a pair of tossers.'' She laughs. 

''One wouldn't happen to be Shade?'' 

''Got it in one.'' They both laugh at that. 

''Ah, so the meeting went smoothly then.'' Widow joins them. 

''You mentioned that before. Who was he meeting anyway?'' Lena inquires. 

''Better for you not to know the details on that chérie.'' Widow smirks and Lena only rolls her eyes, prompting a laugh from the other two in the cockpit. 

''You said a pair, one is Shade, who's the other one?'' Brigitte recalls. 

''A redhead bird who seems to have completely lost the plot.'' Lena sighs. 

''Emily?'' Brigitte responds when she sees that Widow doesn't have a clue who could that be. 

''Yeah...'' Another sigh. 

''But that's great, your girlfriend coming to visit you at Gibraltar.'' 

''If only... She decided to work with Shade in his company and with us when they don't have work there.'' 

''Do not worry chérie. If anything, Shade is fiercely protective of his teammates. He will not allow any harm to come to your dearest. Even if he has to put himself in the line of fire.'' Widow puts a supporting arm on the pilot's shoulder, who leans her cheek on it. 

''Yeah, he seems the type, doesn't he...'' 

''I can double on that.'' Brigitte starts. ''Back when we were dating in high school. There was this incident when a couple of assholes started harassing me while I was waiting for him to head out. Sure I could knock their lights out in no time but I didn't want another mark for fighting on my record. That, however, didn't stop him and he came down on them like a rabid beast and in a mere minute all five of them laid on the ground, bloodied, bruised, with a broken rib or two on each. And he didn't stop there. He went to each, grabbed their hair to make sure they got a good look at me and snarled that I was his and that in the future they should make a long detour just to avoid me or what they got then would seem like a tickling compared to what he would do to them if they get too close.'' She finishes, smiling. 

''Hands-on approach.'' Widow laughs. 

''Hahaha, he still uses that line?'' Brigitte joins her. 

''Yes he does. Any idiot that dared to fire on me got a taste of his fists, survivors were rare.'' Widow grins wickedly. 

''Uf, then I almost feel sorry for any daft bloke that goes against them. Emily is nothing to sneeze at too.'' Lena smirks too. 

''Oh, do tell.'', Brigitte gets curious. 

''Well, this one time we were standing at the bar in this pub we went to. And this bloke comes to pick his drink and slaps my arse. But before I could even turn, Emily conks his head against the bar, peels him off and socks him right in the face, sending him on the ground, knocking his lights out. Some of his mates stood up. Em glared at them so fiercely that they just picked up their mate and left with lowered heads.'' Lena tells them. 

''I would pay to see that!'' Brigitte laughs. 

''I would as well, perhaps even challenge her to a sparring in the ring, but with my condition...'' Widow looks down on herself with a gentle smile and places an arm on her abdomen, ''I do not want to risk a blow here.'' 

''And none of us would even let you, especially Angie.'' Lena says firmly. 

''No such problems here.'' Brigitte grins. ''And I think both Fareeha and Zarya would want a round too if they heard that.'' She adds and they all laugh at that.

 

''It's quite interesting to see them all laughing together like that. I would never believe Widow being capable of such things if I didn't see it myself.'', Fareeha, who is sitting with Reinhardt at the back, says. 

''Yes, it is. But, is it not a good thing when yesterdays enemy becomes today's ally, if not a friend?'', the big german, who is known to have a heart of gold, retorts. 

''Hah, if only my umi will think the same.'' She chuckles. 

''And you my friend? Do you consider her your friend?'' He asks. 

''Can't really say I am. Thinking for so long she killed my mother. I wouldn't even come along today if I didn't owe Shade...'' Fareeha then connects a few dots in her mind, ''And now that I think about it. All three of them are in some way connected to him. Lena with Slipstream, Brigitte was his lover in the past and Widow is his current and carrying their child.'' She ticks them off on her fingers. 

''And you are too. From the moment you met him. Ja?'' He reminds her. 

''Heh, yes, he saved me without even knowing me. He just knew that I was a part of the team and that others cared about me. He didn't hesitate for a second to jump in and got me safely to the ground. And the look I saw on him when he was looking for who did that to me and pure rage when he found them. I believe he genuinely cares about all of us and from what Lena told us, he saved us numerous times without us knowing it.'' 

''What bothers you is, is he a really just a guardian angel or is there something more behind his actions.'' 

''Yes. I just can't help it but think that everything he does has some master plan behind. As if he is looking at a much bigger picture then the rest of us are.'' 

''Though he is not with us for long, I sometimes see my old master in him. In a way that his shoulders are carrying much more than the rest of us. But the way he protects his comrades, how he selflessly puts himself between their enemy and them, I think he would fit right in the Crusaders. He may not be fully honorable but I assure you, if he is ever to perish, he will do so with more glory than even me.'' 

''Wow, that's quite a praise coming from you Rein.'' His words surprising her. 

''I concur...'' Widow, who came back from the cockpit with Brigitte, suddenly says, wording a silent apology to Fareeha who was startled from her sudden arrival. ''If what I read about you and Crusaders when I was looking for data on my potential targets, is correct.'' She finishes and sits across from them. 

''I would say he is just being sentimental, but must agree too.'' Brigitte adds, sitting next to Widow and they both strap in. 

''Ha, I speak only the truth.'' Reinhardt retorts and he and Fareeha strap in too, as they seem to be on the final approach on Gibraltar. ''But allow me to ask, can we call you something else besides Widow or Widowmaker?'' He asks when the Orca starts losing its altitude. 

''It took me quite a while to accept it. And it is another thing Shade helped me with, but when I am not on the battlefield I wish to be called Amélie Lacroix.'' She smiles. 

''Lady Lacroix it is then.'' He responds with a smile of his own, Brigitte and Fareeha laugh at that. 

''I am not sure about the Lady part and Amélie will do just fine among friends. Shade never calls me by my name anyway, neither of them. It is always love, sweety or something of the sort with him.'' Amélie laughs. 

''He did that to me all the time as well.'' Brigitte adds laughing. ''And it would seem that we got another new member.'' She tells to Rein and Fareeha. 

''What? Who?'' Fareeha wonders. 

''Lenas girlfriend Emily. And from what she just told us, I think me, you Fareeha and Zarya have another sparring partner.'' Brigitte comments, popping her knuckles. 

''Another Valkyrie comes!'' Reinhardt thunders, causing them all to start laughing. 

''Do I count as one as well?'' Amélie asks when she catches her breath. 

''But of course. Your methods may differ from ours, but you are a warrior none the less.'' He says, without a shred of doubt in his voice. 

''And the annoyance?'' She smirks a bit, pointing towards the cockpit with her thumb. 

''Ha, she is more of a woman version of Loki!'' He jokes, sending them all into a laughing fit again. 

''Hahaha, I wonder where Shade would place in Norse mythology.'' Brigitte says while laughing. 

''Thor! Even if I am the one wielding a hammer in battle, he is one that truly fits.'' Rein says with his booming voice. 

''Then I will need to build one for him too, hahaha!'' Brigitte is the first to comment. 

''Or he borrows yours.'' Fareeha says. 

''He could handle it with ease.'' Rein recalls how Shade practically toyed with it when he first introduced himself.

''That hammer in Shades hands...'' Amélie thinks out loud. ''He could level legions of omincs with it.'' She grins. 

''I think even Volskayas Svyatogor wouldn't last 10 seconds if he took the hammer to it.'' Brigitte says with a smile. 

''Believe me when I say, that he would not even need the hammer for that.'' Amélie smirks, looking at Brigitte. 

''Hands-on approach?'' She comments looking back, causing them both to start laughing after Amélie adds, ''Exactement.'' With a nod.

 

Orca touches down and its back ramp doors open. The first thing the newly arrived see are two figures. On clad in a black leather coat, black cap, some aviator shades, and a hood pulled over his head, but he is still easily recognized as Shade. The one standing next to him not so much. As it is wearing crimson-colored armor that looks like somebody took Reinhardt's armor, made it smaller, added boosters from Pharahs Raptora but instead of jets, used anti-gravity technology, coupled the whole thing with dozens of energy barrier emitters that coat the armor with additional protection. They ornamented the whole thing with black lines on edges and a black dragons head on the torso whose eyes glow with two emitters being placed there. Floral designs were added to shin and forearms guards. If one saw this at night, it would stop them dead in their tracks and it had the same effect on the four that were staring at it from the top of the Orcas back ramp. 

''What are you guys lookin-'' Lena joins them from the cockpit after shutting down the engines. ''Wow!'' She is also impressed by what she sees. ''Emily?'' She asks after a few seconds of staring. 

''Yes sweet, it's me. And judging by your reactions I did a good job on this.'' She answers her and takes off her helmet. 

''You build this on your own?'' Brigitte asks, finally shaking off the shock and awe and walks closer to get a better look at the suit Emily is wearing. 

''I did. I did borrow a few ideas from the equipment you guys are using though.'' She moves the boosters on her back to show them off and powers off the emitters as they deliver a nasty shock to anyone that comes too close. 

''It looks like my Raptora and Reins armor had a child but Anubis added his own touch to it.'' Fareeha joins the conversation, walking down the ramp. 

''The dragons head is a nice touch too.'' Reinhardt adds his opinion. 

''And I can see why Shade did not waste a minute to offer you a job.'' Amélie commented then walked to him and hugged him. 

''Heh, you know me, my love. When I see potential, I grab it with both arms.'' He squeezes gently the returned hug. 

''Mmm, I know that all too well mon amour.'' She nuzzles into his shoulder. 

''Can't believe I'm saying this, but you two actually look really cute.'' Fareeha says with a smirk, arm on the hip, head tilted a bit. 

''Not nearly as cute as a certain Swiss Egyptian couple does when they get all touchy-feely.'' Shade strikes back, causing Fareeha to blush. 

''Or these two for that matter.'' He nods towards Emily and Lena, right in the middle of a kiss. ''Though one might think Emily went crazy and is kissing a child from how the suit makes her look even taller than she usually is.'' 

''Mmmm... Oi!'' Lena tries to respond after their kiss is done, but still being hugged by her girlfriend she really can't bring herself to. 

''Mhm, yes... mhm, this and that...'' 

''Oh no. Brigitte went to full engineer mode.'' Shade says when he sees her behind Emily, inspecting every nook and cranny of the suit. 

''Ha!'' She jumps after a few moments of intensly staring at the anti-grav boosters. 

''Here we go.'' Shade and Rein say in unison, then chuckle when their eyes meet, both seem to know what's coming next. 

''Em...'' She starts, walking around her to face her, but, 

''Brigitte no.'' Again both Shade and Rein say in unison, placing an arm each on her shoulders. 

''We need to unload Amélies stuff, get Emily set in and then and only then if she wants, you two can start talking about the armor.'' Rein tells her. 

''Aaaah, fine. Like this big guy wasn't enough, now you are here too.'' Brigitte surrenders, giving a dose of her puppy eyes to Shade. 

''Yep.'' He says back firmly, nodding his head, successfully rolling Resistance against puppy eyes in his head. 

''Now, everyone, grab something and help these two ladies get settled in.'' Rein commands this unruly gathering, but the cheery mood plummets when they see Ana walking into the hangar. Both she and Amélie shoulder their rifles and take aim at each other the next second. 

Shade is faster than anyone. Grabs hold of Kisses barrel pushing it upward and stood in front of Amélie. ''You lower yours too.'' He points towards Ana and roars ''NOW!'' 

''Not a chance.'' She responds. 

Shade on top of her in a blink. His gloved hand on her collar, pressing her against the wall, anger clear on his face. ''Only reason you are not in pieces right now, is that you're a part of Overwatch.'' He snarls in her face. ''No one fires or even aims at her and lives to see the next minute. So pull this again and I won't hold back.'' He warns her, pure rage and murderous intent spilling out with every word. He lets go of her when she nods. 

''What is she doing here anyway?'' Ana asks him when he helps her settle her clothes back. 

''She is here because she is my partner and soon to a mother of our child. And as Angela offered to be the doctor in charge, things will be much simpler and safer if she moves here as oppose to doctor running from here to France everytime she needs a check-up or some emergency comes up.'' Shade quickly explains, completely calm now. 

''Understood and I apologize, but...'' Ana nods. 

''Your reaction is understandable as well, given the history between the two of you. So no hard feelings?'' Shade offers a handshake. 

''None. But forgive this stubborn old woman if she avoids you for a few days.'' She takes it. 

''Nothing to forgive.'' He shakes his head with a smile. 

''Then I take my leave, seeing how you are all busy.'' She walks back inside the base after that. 

''Cor' blimey, I'm still putting together what even happened, yet its already resolved.'' Lena exhales when Shade walks back to them. 

''Can't say I like how you threated my mother, but I guess this is an example of...'' Fareeha starts saying, but pauses, glancing at Amélie and Brigitte, 

''Hands-on approach!'' The trio says in unison, all looking at Shade. 

''Hahaha, guess she told you about that. Both of them did, it would seem.'' He laughs. The mood quickly improves after that and in no time they get both Amélie and Emily settled in their new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see if you guys can guess who shows up in the next chapter. Hint: Furniture company. X'D
> 
> Sneak peek in chapter 15:  
> \-----''And I told them, I told them so many times that that plane needs more testing before it's ready for a live pilot!!!'' Anger simmers through his watering eyes. ''So...'' He wipes them clear, calming down. ''You two birdies getting back together?''. he teases with a smile,-----


	15. Blackwatch returns?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversation over a cup of coffee and a surprise in the hangar.

Shade and Amélie sat down for a cup of coffee in their room after they got Amélie settled in. 

''Never thought I would see this place from the inside.'', she comments after taking the first sip from her cup, on which someone, who thought was very clever, drew a black widow. Her eyes dart around the room, ignoring the tag completely.

''Same here.'', Shade nods in response then added, ''Though I did some groundwork to make it happen more smoothly.'' And takes a sip too.

''Always a step ahead of the rest, non?'', she puts her cup down and looks up at him with a smile,

''I have to be.'' Shade sighs, lowering his cup on the table. '' Still, more often then not, I get the feeling like I'm running late.'', he says looking at his palm, opening and closing it, ''No matter how much I plan things, there's stuff that keeps slipping out.''

She gently puts her hand in his and looks straight into his eyes, ''Don't worry so much. From what I can see you made quite a few new friends now. They will catch those.'', she says firmly.

''Mmm. Maybe you're right.'', he gently squeezes with his hand and relaxes, replacing the air in his lungs with two deep breaths. ''After all, things did go pretty well so far.'', he smiles mischievously, looking at Amélie.

''Foolish man.'', she says after she leaned across the table and planted a kiss on Shade forehead. She just sat back in her chair when there's a knock on the door, 

''Hey Shade it's me.'', a raspy male voice says. 

''Hey Soldier.'', Shade responds when he opens the door, ''What brought you here?'' 

''Nothing much. Wanted to talk for a minute.'' 

''Wanna come in for a cup of coffee? I just sat down for one with Amélie when you knocked.'', Shade steps aside and gestures with his hand.

''Sure, but who's Amé...'', Soldier steps in, wondering, ''Oh.'', but then spots her sitting at the table and his eyes narrow. 

''Bonjour.'', she nods, cup in hand. 

''Hello.'', he returns the greeting then continues, '' I thought I saw your rifle in the armory. I lost many under my command to that weapon.'' He pulls out a chair and joins her at the table.

''Here you go.'', Shade starts as he puts a cup of coffee in front of Soldier, then sits down, ''Now, what are you here for?'' 

''I talked to Ana.'', Soldier starts, Shades eyebrow twitches when he looks at him with anger starting to simmer at the back of his head, 

''And?'', he asks when Soldier doesn't continue right away. 

''And she regrets what she did, but you must understand...'', he looks down at his cup, almost like he was the one who did that in the hangar and not someone else. 

''I do. But so must she.'', Shade interrupts, ''When it comes to my teammates, and this also includes her now, I don't compromise. That goes double for her.'', he then puts a hand on Amélies as he gestures towards her with his head, ''Also I didn't joke when I told her that she is lucky that she is still in one piece after what she pulled in that hangar.'', he finishes with a firm and serious tone in his voice.

''Haaa...'', Soldier sighs, weary from putting out someone else's fire again, then continues, ''Also I was in the Row yesterday. Saw who you were meeting.'', and when Shade tries to say something, he stops him with a raised hand, adding ''No one else knows and it will stay that way. Just make sure it doesn't come around and bites us in the ass.'' 

''It won't.'', Shade replies firmly, ''Despite your experiences with him, I found him quite reasonable. And if my plan works out, I will pull him and Moira out of Talons ranks.'', he says almost matter of factly. 

''Out of Talon?'', Soldier wonders. 

''This stays in this room.'', Shade starts when he decided that maybe he could let him know why he was in the Row and when Soldiers nods, ''Akande put out a kill order for Moira. I owe her, so I'm making sure she gets away and Reyes agreed that he will tag along.'', he releases Amélie's hand to pick up his cup.

Soldier twitches a bit at the mention of Reyes's name, ''Huh? But she is one of his greatest assets. Why would he want to get rid of her?''

''My best guess would be that she's been working a few more angles then just Talons.'' He takes a sip of coffee then continues, ''But what probably pushed him over the edge was her refusal to put a leash on me and now that that came back and bit him in the ass he must be pissed.'' 

''Sounds about right. And your plan?'', Soldier nods in agreement, sipping on his coffee.

''Not gonna go into details, but I will add both to my company's roster. Best way to think of it would be like previous Blackwatch but we stay well under the radar.'', Shade finishes, silently asking Amélie to pour him some more coffee with his look. She nods, stands up and leaves the two at the table to fetch the pot from the counter.

''Understood. On to a lighter theme. You know who's room this used to be?'', Soldier smirks, 

''Yours. Athena's choice.'', Shade answers with a smile. 

''Can't help but wonder if she is trying to say that you would make a good Overwatch commander.'' 

''Had the same thought when I found out about it. But I just came here and getting them to trust me... that I won't shoot them in the back, will need some work. Amélie...'' he looks at her when she returned and poured him more coffee, thanking her with a smile and a nod. ''...coming here only added to that.'', and takes a sip from his refilled cup. 

''Not as much as you might think.'' He tries to drink some more of his coffee but to his dismay his cup is empty. Not for long as Amélie noticing that poured him some more. ''Thank you.'' He thanks her then turns to face Shade again, ''And the way you carry yourself, I saw it before. That's how natural leaders move. They were the ones that brought most of their soldiers home during the Crisis.'', Soldier sighs as he remembers the hell of those days, finishes his coffee in one gulp and stands up, ''Gotta go clear my head, those battles still linger in my mind and none were pleasant.'', 

''Will walk you out. Need to check on something myself.'', Shade stands up too. ''See ya later love.'', he kisses Amélie on the cheek, who nods, smiling. And they head for the door. 

''Well, Soldier...'', Shade says when they get outside and doors close behind them. 

''Jack.'', he says in response. 

''Okay, Jack then. See ya later.'' 

''Later Shade.'', and they go their own ways. Shade heads towards Brigitte's workshop. 

 

''Hey Brig...'', he is just about to knock, hearing a racket of someone working on something from inside, when he spots her coming down the hall. 

''Hey Shade. What's up?'', she asks when she comes closer. He knits his brows, pointing to her then to the door. ''Ah, dad came by while we were out. Already hard at work, it would seem.'', she explains then opens the doors, ''Hey dad! I'm back!'', she yells over the racket. 

''Hey my little pumpk...'', Torbjörn starts when he turns around to face her. But stops when he sees who is standing next to her. ''La-lad-laddie, is that you?!'', his hammer dropping out of his hand, his eyes watering, ''LADDIE!!!!'', he runs across the workshop to hug and lift Shade off the ground. 

''Hey there Mr. Lindholm.'', Shade smiles hugging the small man back as best as he can. 

''It's Torbjörn for you laddie. But how? We buried you.'', he releases him and steps back a little. 

''Slipstream, same thing as Lenas. Only it was Moira that pulled me out.'', he gives a quick explanation to his almost would be father in law. 

''And I told them, I told them so many times that that plane needs more testing before it's ready for a live pilot!!!'', anger simmers through his watering eyes, ''So...'', he wipes them clear, calming down, ''... you two birdies getting back together?'', he teases with a smile. 

''DAD!'', Brigitte scolds him. 

'''fraid that's not possible.'', Shade answers him, a bit of a sad undertone in his voice, as he remembers how Lindholms almost immediately welcomed him as part of the family. ''I lost my memory when it happened and didn't even know about Brigitte or what we were until I saw her in the hangar a few days ago.'' He explains when they walked back to the workbench. ''And found a different woman to dedicate my heart to.'', he answers the unvoiced question on Torbjörn face. 

''Haaa... I understand. Who is the lucky lady then?'', he smiles, though disappointment is clearly visible on his face,.

''Amélie Lacroix. Also known as...'', Shade starts to answer, 

''Widowmaker.'', but Torb finishes, then asks, ''But she is with Talon. You part of them now?'' 

Shade shakes his head, putting a reassuring hand on the Torbjörn's shoulder, ''No, to both. I freed her from them and she is in my room here right now.'' 

''I thought I saw her rifle. I thought we managed to capture her.'', he runs a hand over his beard. 

''Nah, she came to live here with me because Angela offered to be the doctor in charge of her pregnancy.'', Shade chuckles.

''What!? Widow... Mrs. Lacroix is pregnant?'', Torbjörn's eyes go wide when he looks up at Shade.

''Yes, we don't know how it's possible with me being as I am and what Talon did to her. But Angela confirmed it earlier today.'', Shade nods. 

''Well, congratulations then, laddie. Bring her to the workshop sometime. You are both welcome.'', Torb offers a handshake, 

''Thanks Torbjörn, will do.'', Shade takes him on his offer. 

''Oh, right!'' Torb jumps in excitement when he remembers something, ''You two want to see what I brought with me? I thought she might useful to the team, but now that you are here, laddie, I think this also makes her a good welcome back gift.'', he beams them both a face wide smile. ''Come on you two, move your butts!'', he pushes them both from behind, rushing them towards the hangar, ''Rein should have her unloaded by now!'' 

 

When the doors open and they enter the hangar, Shade and Brigitte just stare with wide eyes. Reinhardt is leaning on something that is all too familiar to both of them, grinning. 

''Oh my god dad, I totally forgot about her.'', Brigitte says then runs towards the bike. 

''Never thought I'll see her again if I'm honest.'', Shade walks with Torbjörn. 

''Haha, I kept her in running order, added a few tweaks and upgrades so she is more then fit for battle now and if you want, she is yours.'', he chuckles. 

''Well if she runs...'', Shade looks at Brigitte, smiling, running a hand over the black and red, armored and armed anti-grav bike with Fury written on her sides. Torbjörn is already holding two helmets for them. 

''Shall we?'', Shade asks Brigitte, with a grin plastered on his face.

''Absolutely!'', she responds with a face wide smile, and they get on the bike, helmets on their heads and Shade starts her. 

''Purrs like a kitten.'', he comments, turns her around and opens the throttle, blasting out of the hangar, almost scraping the parked Orca. They leave the Watchpoint far behind a minute later. Just him, Brigitte and Fury speeding through the town, zigzagging among the traffic. ''Still got it!'', he yells over the rushing wind. 

''You do. Yes, you do.'', Brigitte squeezes her grip a bit more tightly, happy memories of them doing this exact thing flooding her mind. They ride for about an hour then start to head back towards the Watchpoint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you probably guessed that it was Torb being angry about the Slipstream. And as promised this is the point where you can safely read [School, Love and Tears.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14054802/chapters/32375583)
> 
> Sneak peek at chapter 16:  
> \-----''Hahaha, forgive this old oaf. If it is not about something you can hit with a hammer, he won't memorize it.'', Reinhardt pats her and Torbjörn on the back. 
> 
> ''That's rich coming from you.'', Torbjörn comments, all present explode into a laughing fit.-----


	16. Watchpoints hangar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you get when you add Britain to Sweden and Germany? A whole lot of Lenanigans and then some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya all who actually read this. Little heads up of sort. There is only one more chapter written after this one. So there might be a short break in the regularity of posting. I will try to post some new chapters for [School, love and tears](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14054802/chapters/32375583) and [How spider was reborn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14089986/chapters/32463354) to ease up the the wait. And am working on a completely new story starring Overwatches newest hero Brigitte Lindholm.

''Heya Reinhardt!'', Lena chirps when she enters the hangar. 

''And I'm apparently invisible.'', Torbjörn, sitting right next to the german giant, grumbles jokingly. 

''Sorry, Torb, didn't...'', she starts to apologize then shuts up, as she was about to confirm Torbjörn's words. ''Anyway, what are you two doing, just standing there? Nothing better to do?'', she asks next. Walking closer to the pair, she can't recall a single time when Torbjörn, especially, didn't work on something. 

''Could ask you the same. But we are waiting for someone to return. Having a short break in the meantime.'', he answers, munching on a sandwich. 

Lena wonders where Brigitte is, as she is usually working on Reins armor here in the hangar or in the Watchpoints workshop. ''Was looking for you actually. Brigitte and Emily talked about looking at Em's armor. But when I didn't find anybody in the workshop, I figured you would probably be here.'', she just finishes and thinks of sitting down next to Rein, when a rumbling sound can be heard from outside. And it's getting louder and louder. 

''Here they come!'', Rein stands up from the crate he was using as a makeshift seat. 

''Go. Take a look.'', Torbjörn tells Lena when he sees the question written all over her face. 

''Okay...'', little unsure, she walks outside of hangar door and turns to look what is making that noise. She yells, ''WHAT IS THAT!?'', pointing at the approaching bike that looks more like a war machine than just a bike, while looking back towards Torbjörn and Reinhardt, both joy and fear clear on her face. Both are wearing face wide grins.

 

Shade spots Lena standing outside yelling something back into the hangar and opens the throttle. Then maybe two Fury lengths away from her, he hits the side boosters. Jerking the bike and the riders with it to the side, he swings the rear around and pushes the controls forward so that the bikes anti-grav pads serve as brakes, coming to a stop right next to Lena. She is simply starring with wide eyes. ''Hey there speedy.'', he takes his helmet off and shuts Furys main generator off. 

''Hi Lena.'', Brigitte jumps off the bike, taking her helmet off too. 

''Hey, hi. What is that?!'', she returns the greetings, still trying to get her breathing under control. 

''She is an anti-grav bike. Fury. Thought you would recognize one when you see it.'', Shade answers, getting off the bike too. Four struts come out of its body to support it when the main anti-grav pads turn off.

''Fury? That 'er name?'', Lena walks closer. ''She is gorgeous.'' Sliding a hand over the shape of the bike, she is all smiles.

''Careful, she bites.'', Shade smiles, looking at her from the other side of the bike. 

''Wot?'', Lena's head snaps up and she looks him dead in the eyes. 

''On the sides.'' Shade points with his hand. ''Those hatches hide anti-armor rockets and a pair of 6 barreled .50 cal miniguns. So...'', he leans in, ''... she bites.'', jokingly hissing that last part into Lena's face. 

''Wow! I like 'er even more now.''. Shade would bet good money that he never saw eyes shine so brightly as Lenas did right now. 

''Hehe. Sorry to disappoint you but she won't be going out again today.'', Lena's face fell when he said that. 

''Why not?'', looking like somebody poured a bucket of cold water over her.

''Because she is a prototype and Torbjörn will soon have her strapped to a computer. Analyzing every bit of data she just gave us for the rest of the day. We can take her out tomorrow if we have time and you are still willing, though.'', Shade offers with a smile. 

''We? Kinda hoped I would be riding alone.'' 

''Sorry, that's another no go. She is mine and until I develop some kind of system to keep her in one piece after you blink off on reflex, you are only getting a tandem ride. Though, if it makes you feel any better I am willing to take the passenger seat. That way, even if you do blink off, I'm close enough to take the controls.'' 

Her hand shoots out for a handshake, ''Deal.'' She doesn't waste a second thinking about that, understanding his reasoning and if he is the one with her that's a plus, not a minus. 

''Deal.'', he shakes the offered hand with a smile. ''Here, I'll let you push her inside.'', he offers, gesturing with his hand. And takes a step away from the bike.

''Hm...how do I...?'', she wonders, when she sees Fury is supported by four struts. 

''Just like the normal bike with wheels. The system will recognize that you are trying to move her and it will engage the pads. But only to support her, not on full power.'', Shade explains. 

''Okay.'', she grabs the steering handle and gently pushes and just like Shade said, anti-grav pads flicker to life. Much dimmer than before but they do their job when the support struts pull back into the body. She is surprised how light she feels, considering that she probably weighs a ton. ''You said she was yours. What did you mean by that?'', Lena asks Shade who is walking beside her, gesturing okay sign with his hand to Torbjörn with a wink, a grin plastered on his face. 

''Torb gave her to me.'', Shade says as they walk towards the hangar. ''This is the same bike Brigitte build when we were together back in school. I was the one that got her to start up, while she gave her trouble. Never thought I would see her again if I'm honest. We had so much fun with her.'', he gazes upwards, thinking. Lena can see a blissful smile on his face. 

''Oh, did anything naughty on her too?'', she teases. 

''Don't think we did, but...'', he thinks for a moment. Then, ''Hey Brigitte!'', he shouts. 

''Oi!'', Lena tries to stop him, but to no avail. 

''Did we ever get frisky on Fury? I don't remember we did.'', he asks all present can clearly hear his raised voice. Torbjörn rolls his eyes and Reinhardt who is standing next to him, just chuckles. 

Brigitte's face has a touch red when she turns after being called, holding two helmets in her hands. ''Shade! But no, I don't think we did, at least not while she was moving.'', she admits, causing Torbjörn to suddenly start clearing his throat, Reinhardt laughing out loud and Lenas face getting warmer. Her imagination filling the gaps on just how a couple would do it on the bike she is currently pushing inside the hangar. 

''There you go.'', he puts a hand on her shoulder. 

''You are completely shameless. You both are.'', she quips back. 

''Never ask questions you are not prepared to hear an answer to.'', he comments with a smile, removing his hand. 

''Here we are.'', Lena says when they reach Furys spot in the hangar and Torbjörn gets busy connecting various cables. One for charging her generator, rest to transfer data to a computer that will tell him if there are any defects and if things are decaying faster then they should. 

''Didn't really had the chance to test her weaponry but I did put her through her paces. And she performed brilliantly.'', Shade talks to Torbjörn when they get absorbed with data showing on the screen. 

''This could cause problems in the long run.'', Brigitte points out one of the curves that depict the generator's performance when she joins them. 

''Hm... maybe if you turned down the amount of power that goes to the main booster and dial it up on the auxiliary ones it would last longer.'', Lena adds, the trio snapping their heads to look at her, surprise clear on their faces. ''Hey!'', she scowls. ''I did fly a jet in the army. I have some knowledge about engines and the lot. Hell, Winston forced me to know what every bolt does on Slipstream before I could take 'er into the air.'', she argues. 

''Heh, sorry speedy. It's just that you don't look the part.'', Shade scruffs her hair a bit. 

''You're fine and Brigitte too. But Torbjörn was there on the Slipstream project.'', she gives him a dose of stink eyes. 

''Hahaha''Reinhardts laugh thunders from behind them. ''Forgive this old oaf. If it's not about something you can hit with a hammer, he won't memorize it.'', Reinhardt pats her and Torbjörn on the back, 

''That's rich coming from you.'', Torbjörn comments, all present explode into a laughing fit.

''Anyway...'', Lena starts when they calm down, ''Could someone take a look at Emily's armor now?'' 

''Sorry, I need to work on this and would like Brigitte to help me.'', Torbjörn answers, turning back to the screen. Then points to Shade over his shoulder, ''Maybe laddie here can take a look instead.''

''Shade?'', now its Lenas turn to give him a weird look. 

''There's more in his nugget than one can tell by just looking at him.'', Brigitte noticing her look, comments jokingly. 

''Hey! Anyway, lead the way, Lena. Let's leave Brigitte with these old farts.'', Shade strikes back. ''While I enjoy the company of two fine ladies.'', then puts an arm around Lena's shoulder and starts to lead her inside the base. 

''My hands seem to be quite slippery right now for some reason.'', Brigitte smiles at them, swirling a hammer in her hand. 

''For as long it's not Reins hammer I should be fine.'', he comments back, waving his hand in dismissal. But when he sees Brigitte starting to wind her arm, ''RUN!'', he yells. And both he and Lena take off towards the door, laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17 sneak peek:  
> \-----''Blue in front, red to my side. It's like a light show with you two around.'', Emily says after they separate. 
> 
> ''Put on some music and when we start blinking all over the place I'm sure we can give any disco a run for their money, right speedy?'', Shade jokes, holding his hand in a high five for Lena. 
> 
> ''You bet'cha! We'll show those cheeky gits wots wot! Hahaha.'', she jumps and they high five.-----


	17. Sentinel+Fury=Badass as f***

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Workshop with Emily and Shade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what I wrote in the previous chapter's notes but I was good and wrote another after this one so 1 more week then maybe a break. ;)

''She wouldn't throw it for real, would she?'', Lena asks him when the doors close behind them and they walk towards the workshop. 

''Wanna test that? 'Cause I sure won't and she would probably target me, not you.'', Shade responds. 

''Do I even want to know how you two were like while you were dating?'', she smirks. 

''Nope. Let's just say there was never a dull moment.'', he smiles back. 

''From what I can see, I have no problem believing that.'', Lena adds,''Heya, luv.'', then greets Emily who is waiting outside the workshops doors. 

''Hi sweet, hello Shade.''. 

''Hey beautiful.'', Shade says hi too. 

''My girlfriend, hands off.'', Lena scolds him, but there is no heat in her words. 

''Like you are keeping yours off me?'', he comments with a raised eyebrow, smiling and opens the doors. 

''There something I should know, sweet?'', Emily asks with a smirk when they walk inside, and she spots Lena's face going a bit rosy. 

''Breakfast in bed after she spent the night using my chest as a pillow.'', Shade gives her a short version. 

''I was pissed and... That's it, not doing anything nice for you again.'', Lena mocks pouting with crossed arms. Shade and Emily laugh at her, then when he gestures with his head, Emily hugs her, then Shade, being taller then both, wraps his arms around them. 

''Blue in front, red to my side. It's like a light show with you two around.'', Emily says after they separate. 

''Put on some music and when we start blinking all over the place I'm sure we can give any disco a run for their money, right speedy?'', Shade jokes, holding his hand in a high five for Lena. 

''You bet'cha! We'll show those cheeky gits wots wot! Hahaha.'', they high five. 

''I prefer classical music over what Mr. Lucio makes, but I am sure I can put up quite a performance even to his music.'', a french accented voice says from behind them. 

''Hey love.'', Shade walks to her and pecks her on the cheek. 

''Bonjour mon amour.'', Emily and Lena just stand there as if somebody paralyzed them. 

''Sweet, you never told me she had a voice like that!'', Emily tries to whisper but fails. 

''I know, right? It's just not fair. That voice on top of that...'', Lena gestures to Amelie, top to bottom, ''... I'm so gay.'', she whimpers at the end.

Amelie then walks to the pair, winking to Emily, a predacious grin on her face when she leans towards Lena, cups her cheek. ''I will take it as a compliment, chérie.'', she purrs the chérie part, turning Lena into putty. ''No challenge there.'', she says when she straightens up. 

''You have got to show me how you do that.'', Emily smiles. 

''Perhaps. If you ask nicely enough.'', Amelie runs her tongue over her lips seductively, Emily biting her lower lip, a small squeak escapes her. 

''Al'right, al'right. Break it up, ladies. Before this turns into impromptu threesome.'', Shade laughs when he walks next to Amelie. 

''Ah, mon amour, I am quite sure they could be persuaded for a foursome.'', Lena and Emily both shrug as if they wouldn't really oppose the idea. 

Shade just rolls his eyes, ''Work first. Tasting what the Old World has to offer, maybe later.'', he winks. 

''So Ems, you mention wanting to have your armor looked over.'' 

''Yep. I think there's room for improvements. And now that I got more resources, I thought I could start on those after brainstorming for a bit.'', they talk while walking where Emily's armor was strapped on its stand. 

''Lena, would you perhaps join me for some coffee? These two look like they got things covered here.'', Amelie asks her when Emily and Shade walk away. 

''Sure.'', Lena answers and Amelie puts her arm around her shoulders and they start to walk towards the exit. 

''You two, behave!'', Shade calls after them with a laugh. 

''I am sure we can keep ourselves busy enough to stay out of trouble. Don't we chérie?'', Lena leans on Amelie when she lightly squeezes with her arm, winking back to Shade. And they walked through the door.

''Is what I'm afraid of.'', both he and Emily chuckle at that and doors close behind the british-french pair. 

''Anyway, back to the task at hand. You mentioned you had some ideas, give me a quick run down.'', Shade goes full engineer mode. 

''Alright. First, these barrier emitters look quite vulnerable. If the barrier falls for even a second and a stray shot hits them, they are history. Second, even though I can move quite well in it, it's somewhat bulky. Maybe if it was made a bit lighter, I would be even faster.'', Emily points out a few points of concern on her part. 

''For emitters, there are two options. Either move them inside and set a different offset so the barrier is still projected at the same point as it is now. Or make 'em smaller and spread them out. This way, if one goes, the ones next to it can temporarily take over its load.'', Shade pauses to see what Emily thinks. 

''Make them smaller strikes me as a better solution, but I can't make those.'', Emily complains, 

''Is what you got me, Brigitte and Torbjorn here for now. And I'm sure once either of us shows you how to do it, you will pick it up fast.'', Shade winks and hugs Emily over her shoulders, 

''Moving on, the bulk of it.'', Emily says after enjoying Shades hug for a moment, 

''That's an easy one. Different material altogether. Lighter, thinner but stronger. You didn't have it available but Overwatch sure does. And if they don't, I can put an order out for some through my company. Few of my contacts owe me a favor or two so they should have it ready and delivered in two days tops if I make the call today.'', 

''Heh, that solves that, I guess.'', Emily smiles. 

''Mhm. And if you don't mind I would like to copy your design and make a few more of these. Coupled with something similar to Fury they would make one mean unit of armored soldiers while riding anti-grav bikes that are armed and armored themselves. Perfect for flanking and quick hit and run strikes on enemy formations.'', Shade is already planning way ahead. 

''A whole unit of Sentinels? That would be quite a sight to see. And who is Fury?'', Emily wonders. 

''Fury is an anti-grav bike Brigitte made while in high school from scratch. And when I added a few tweaks of my own she justified her name. Now that Torbjorn got his hands on it and brought her here, she is combat ready. Oh, and would you be interested in leading the said unit?'', he asks when they move to the drawing board and spread out a blank paper to draw some designs. 

''Me, leading a combat unit? Nah, don't think so.'', Emily tries to wave off the idea. 

But, ''You got the right stuff for it, you know.'', Shade insists, ''And after we train some and you go out with me or Overwatch on a few missions to get the feel for the in-field decision making, you should do great.'', he explains his reasons behind the offer, drawing a quick sketch of Fury and her rider. 

Emily smiles, ''Heh, I guess I'll give it a shot if you are so sure.'', then leans in to take a closer look at Shades sketch. ''Hm? If we put a back armor like so...'', she draws a curved line that connects the back of Fury to almost where the rider is, ''...it would reduce the drag, and give us some space to store some gear or weaponry in case they would need to dismount away from the supply base.'' 

''Mmm, good idea.'', Shade responds, and after that, they spend the rest of the day and well into the night drawing different designs for both Fury and Sentinel. Different variations of both separately and combined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek in chapter 18:  
> \-----''Awww. They look so cute.'', Emily, who was the first to reach the opened doors, comments when she sees them. 
> 
> ''Would be a real shame to wake them up.'', Brigitte smirks at Shade after she takes a look too.-----


	18. Redhead, brunette and Shade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily, Brigitte and Shade talk engineering then go to bed. Oh, there are some other things that happened in between too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now I'm straight up spoiling you guys. New chapter for Raven and a new one for Shade. Well, I'm bored today so this is time well spent, I guess.

It was only when Brigitte walked in, yawning, ''Haaaaaa... you two still up? It's 4 in the morning.'' 

''What?'' Shade and Emily looked at each other, asking in unison. They stand up straight and turn to their visitor.

''Fury is ready if you want to take her out tomorrow Shade.'' Brigitte tells him, then spots the blueprints on the drawing board. ''What were you two working on until now anyway?'' She walks closer. 

''Well...'' Shade steps to the side, gesturing to Birgitte to take a look. 

''Hm...'' Brigitte looks a the first one, then pulls it away to look at the one below, and another one. She keeps going through a few more and her eyes go wider and wider with each sheet of paper she pulls away and gets to look at the designs on the one below. ''You... you two drew these?'' Her head on a swivel, looking at Shade on one side, then at Emily on the other. 

''Yeah, something wrong?'' Emily wonders. A touch of concern shows up on her face. 

''No... no, no, no.'' Birgitte shakes her head and waves her free hand in denial of Emily's question. ''Not at all. These are some sick designs.'' She points to the blueprint currently visible. ''And if I wasn't dead tired on my feet right now, I would start building at least one of them right now.'' Brigitte's eyes shine when she turns to look at Emily. 

''Hehe, I bet you would.'' Shade puts an arm on Brigitte's shoulders. ''But firstly, like you just said, we are all tired.'' A yawn escapes him as to emphasize what he just said. ''And secondly, we don't have the material available yet.'' He gently pulls the plans out of her hand, careful not to tear the paper. And setting them back down on the table, ''And you got your own suit to finish if I'm not mistaken, so leave these to me and Emily.'' He uses the arm on her shoulder to nudge her away from the drawing board and towards the exit, ''So let us all catch some z's first.'' Both of his arms now move lower to hug the two ladies around their waist and he gives them both a gentle push towards the doors. 

''Okay, okay. You win.'', Brigitte grumbles. '' You always did.'' She leans her head on Shades shoulder. 

''Always?'' Emily wonders when they all walk out of the workshop. 

''Right.'' Shade remembers. ''You don't know yet. Me and Brigitte used to date.'' He answers. 

''Wot?'' Emily stops for a second but continues walking. Shades arm on her waist encouraging her. ''You...'' She points to Shade, ''...and you.'' Now pointing to Brigitte. ''Dated?'' Emily has a look of disbelief on her face. 

''Yeah...'' Shade shrugs. ''That really so hard to imagine?'' He quirks a brow when their eyes meet.

''Considering who you are with now... Yeah, it is.'' Emily continues.

''Haaaaaa...'' Brigitte yawns again. ''It was before the Slipstream.'' 

Emily takes a second to connect the dots, ''Oh, right! Memory loss.'' 

''Bingo. Well, this is me.'' Shade stops in front of his rooms doors, releasing the ladies and points to it. The other two walk ahead. ''Hey, wait a sec.'' Shade calls out for them. And when they stop and look at him, ''If I'm right and probably am. Emily, you might need to pick someone up.'' 

''Huh? What do you mean?'' She tries to think what she needs to pick up from Shades room, but nothing comes to mind. 

Shade opens the doors and as expected, Amelie and Lena are sleeping together. Lena curled up into Amelie and she is holding a protective arm around her. The blanket slowly rising and falling with their breathing. He points with his thumb for the two to take a look, leaning on the doorframe.

''Awww. They look so cute.'' Emily, who was the first to reach the opened doors, comments when she sees them. 

''Would be a real shame to wake them up.'' Brigitte smirks at Shade after she takes a look too. 

''Bed is big enough for the third, but four would be a real tight fit. Let alone five.'' Shade says flatly, looking at Emily and Brigitte.

''Easy problem to solve.'' Emily says just as flatly, then winks at Shade. ''She took yours, so you take hers.'' A mischievous smirk shows up on her face.

''Haaa...'' Shade sighs, facepalming jokingly. ''Not a moment of peace around your four is there?'' He smiles at Emily and Brigitte then gestures to the two sleeping with his head. 

''Nope.'' Emily and Brigitte say in unison, trying hard not to laugh too loudly.

''Don't really care as long as I get a good night sleep.'' Shade closes the doors, then walks to the two and his arms return around their waists. ''At least I get two while Lena has just the one.'', he smiles and lightly nudges them to start walking. 

''Two? Nah ah, I'm sleeping in my room.'' Brigitte tries to protest. Tried she did. Succeeded, she did not.

''Really?'' Shade looks at her as they walk, lightly tickling her.

''No-ahaha-sto-hap!'' Brigitte starts squirming, laughing. 

''Only if you come along.'' Shade continues his assault. 

''Geez, you two.'' Emily only smiles and rolls her eyes. 

''Fin-hah-ah-ne.'' Brigitte submits, catching her breath. ''Damn you. You know all my weak spots.'' She looks at Shade with a mocking scolding eyes.

''Heh. I could try to find some on Emily tonight. Wanna help me?'' He winks and smiles back. 

''Not a chance.'' Emily refuses it completely. ''Please, let's just go to sleep.'' Then almost begs after she feels Shades fingers on her waist start to wiggle. 

''Okay. There will be plenty of chances in the future for that.'', Shade agrees, ''But tell me what is it with you Brits and getting me to sleep with you on the first night together?'' He smirks at Emily.

''Like you don't enjoy it?'' Emily responds with a look that sends the other two laughing. 

''Just asking, not complaining.'' He responds and they walk down the hallway towards Lena's room. When they reach it, Emily opens them and they start to undress. 

''Ladies.'' Shade calls out and turns away from them.

''Awww, is somebody shy?'' Brigitte teases, pulling off her pants. Now only her underwear protects her dignity. She stiffens when a hand touches her shoulder blade.

''Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you.'' Emily apologizes. ''It's just that...'' She runs her finger along the heart shape of Brigitte's tattoo. ''This is so beautiful. What do the words in it mean?'' She asks when Brigitte turns her head to look at her over her shoulder. 

''Always in my heart.'' Brigitte answers, a bit of sad undertone in her voice. A second hand is gently put on her shoulder and she looks at its owner. ''I'm okay.''

Emily knows better than to pry any further. But Brigitte explains anyway, ''I got this the day after I put his casket into the ground.'' She turns to face Emily completely and gestures towards Shade with her head. 

''I'm sorry.'' Emily apologizes with a lowered head.

''Is okay.'' Brigitte waves her off. ''You couldn't have known. Plus...'' She points towards Shade with her thumb. ''This pain in the ass is still alive and kicking.'' She chuckles.

Emily shoots her head up when a meaty slap can be heard and laughs when she sees Brigitte stiff as a board. Eyes wide at first then turned into thin slits and she is turning her head slowly to look at Shade.

''What?'' He shrugs when their eyes meet. ''You said I'm a pain in the ass. So I gave Emily a little demonstration.''

''You two are something else.'' Emily laughs. She is just about to unclasp her bra when she stops. Her sight goes to Shade, who is in his pants only already. ''You mind?'' She asks when Shade just looks back.

''Right. Sorry.'' He turns around again when he finally sees what Emily is trying to do.

''Hey Emily.'' Brigitte calls out when she removes her bra. She shoots a quick glance towards Shade and sees that he is still studying the wall.

''Yes?'' She responds, pulling a T-shirt over her head and letting it fall over her.

''Got one of those for me too?'' Brigitte points to the said shirt.

''Yeah, sure.'' Emily digs into her bag, which she only managed to unpack about halfway. She pulls out another shirt and throws it towards Brigitte. ''Try this one.''

''Bit tight...'' She comments when she puts it on. ''But it will do. And you can turn around now.'' She calls out to Shade.

He stifles a laugh as soon as he does and sees the shirt Brigitte is wearing. ''It's cute, but it's just too funny on you.'' He comments, barely holding back his laugh.

Emily walks around her to take a look. ''I'm sorry Brigitte.'' She tries to choke down her laugh too when she sees it. 

''What?'' Brigitte pulls on the hem of her shirt to take a look, ''Engineer. Because a freakin' genius isn't a job title.'' She reads what it says on her shirt out loud. Causing Shade and Emily to explode in laughter. ''Har, har. Very funny.'' She rolls her eyes.

''Lena bought that shirt for me a while ago. Didn't knew I still had it.'' Emily explains when they catch their breath. 

They all walk to the bed and as he predicted, Shade ends up in the middle, both of his arms confiscated for pillows by his company.

''Did it hurt?'' Emily quietly asks. Her sight going up to Shade, her hand on the implanted anchor.

''This part no.'' Shade answers. ''Rest she did to me, quite.'' He can feel Brigitte twitch a bit when he says that. ''Hey, I'm here now.'' He squeezes lightly with the arm around her shoulders.

''Yeah. You are.'' She nuzzles a bit tighter to his shoulder. 

''Good night you two.'' He closes his eyes.

''Good night.'' They both respond in unison. That causes them all to chuckle a bit. But they soon settle down and Shade can soon hear them both breathing rhythmically. He soon joins them in the world of dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 19:  
> \-----''Oh, c'mon. At least cover that thing up.'' Lena says but thinks completely the opposite. Please don't.-----


	19. Spider and the Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more Lenanigans? And Amélie spices things up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer is on full throttle, so these will be posted when I manage. Got quite a few new chapters written but they won't be regularly posted. Aaaaaand I might have started a completely new story besides this series and Raven.

“Mmmm. Em, don't stop,” Lena melts. A hand with slender fingers is gently caressing her scalp. One of the best ways to wake up, if someone was to ask her. Wait just one tick. With her brain waking up more, she starts to realize that something doesn't quite fit here. Long, slender fingers? Her girlfriend doesn't have such. She racks her memory for someone that would fit. Only one person matches.

“Bonjour, chérie,” a voice that definitely doesn't belong to Emily greets her. But matches the person she matched the fingers to. She slowly opens one eye, trying to sneak a peek, still hoping it's just a dream. But when she is met with yellow irises and blue skin, her other eye joins the first in a wide-eyed stare. She doesn't hold it for long because her newest reflex to danger is to blink away. And she does just that. Right out of bed. The gust of air that that created pulls the blanket right along with her.

Seeing Lena's reaction, “Pardon,” Amélie apologizes, lightly bowing her head. “I did not mean to startle you,” and lifts herself on her elbow. With a gentle look, she scans the clearly startled Brit. Who is making a great imitation of a baby deer caught in the headlights. Frozen in place, eyes locked back on her.

Blinking her eyes at a speed only she is capable of, “Wha-wha-wha-what are you doing in my bed?” Lena's eyes start to wander along the naked body of the only remaining occupant of the bed. One really gorgeous body. One with a perfect arse, long slender legs, and a beautiful face. Face that is hugged by a long dark hair. Beautiful, even if they are sporting a good case of bed hair at the moment. Her sight moves to the face that is decorated by absolutely delicious looking lips and a pair of amazing golden eyes. Eyes that are looking right ba-, Lena's thoughts grind to a halt when everything clicks in and she fully realizes who she is looking at.

Amélie just smiles, “Pretty sure this is my bed.”

Lena's sight starts to dart around the room. But even then, she keeps stealing glances at the leggy french with a perfect arse. _‘Oh gosh, I'm so gay’,_ she thinks, when Amélie, as if to tease her even further, turns on her stomach. Giving her a full display of her perfect curves. Eyes kept locked on Lena's.

“Oh, c'mon. At least cover that thing up,” Lena quips but thinks completely the opposite, _‘Please don't.’_

Amélie chuckles, “Even if I wanted to,” then at teasingly slow pace swings her legs in a long semi-circular arc while rolling around and away from Lena. Lena's eyes follow them the whole way around and she can't help herself but bite her lower lip and whimper lowly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, back turned to Lena. She points towards the blanket with her thumb over her shoulder, “You pulled the blanket off.” The blanket that is on the floor next to Lena. _‘There is God!’_ Lena thinks when she quickly glances at the blanket at her feet, then returns to look at the display that that happy incident caused. Amélie stands up and heads for the bathroom, “I'm going to freshen up. You make the bed, qui?” she glances over her shoulder towards Lena with a coy smile.

“Yeah...mmm...Sure. I can do that,” Lena scrambles. Her head clearing up a bit now that the leggy and absolutely gorgeous french has closed the bathrooms doors behind her. After the task is complete, she sits at the edge of it. “Why am I such a mess around her?” she buries her face in her hands.

“Perhaps,” a voice suddenly purrs in her ear, its hot breath sending shivers down her spine. “Because I _like_ to mess with you.” A slightly cold finger runs along her jaw and lightly pushes her head out of her hands and in the sight of yellow eyes. Eyes, whose owners lips are way too close. Lena as if in trance slowly leans in. But the lips evade and kiss her forehead.

“I am sorry, chérie. But perhaps another time.”, Amélie apologizes with a gentle voice and fixes some of Lena's hair behind her ear. She then walks over to the kitchen counter, “I can offer some coffee if you would like some?” and starts the coffee machine.

“Some tea, if possible,” Lena asks instead. She stands up and walks to the table. Pulling out a chair she takes a sit.

Amélie jokingly rolls her eyes, snorting, “English.”

Lena, not willing to take that one for free, “Oh look at me,” she starts and when Amélie turns around to look, she can see Lena faking holding a cigarette and a cup with a raised pinky. “Hon, hon. I drink coffee.” Lena continues, doing her best impression of a french accent. “I am so French, I turned blue.” Her eyes go wide when she realizes she took the joke too far. “I'm sorry. That was uncalled for,” she apologizes with a lowered head.

Amélie leans on the counter and smiles, “It was a good joke. I will take it as such,” and shoots a wink to the apologizing Brit. “Your accent could use some work though.”

Lena perks right up at her words, “Thanks luv. So... That tea still an option?”

Amélie nods, “Of course.” Then puts the kettle full of water on the stove and turns it on. Turning around to look back at Lena, “You know, you can go freshen up,” she gestures towards the bathroom with her head, when she sees that Lena's hair is an even bigger mess than usual. “Water will take a few minutes to boil,” she adds then walk towards the table and sits across from her.

“Right-o. On it.” Lena jumps up from her seat and walks towards the bathroom at a brisk pace.

Amélie follows her with her eyes, “Mmm. Magnifique,” she comments jokingly, eyeing Lena's cute little butt. And makes sure that Lena sees what she is looking at.

“Thanks, luv.” Lena chirps back, winking over her shoulder. Sashaying her ass a bit before she closes the bathroom doors behind her. When she comes out, a cup of steaming tea is waiting for her on the table where she sat before she went to the bathroom. Amélie is busy sipping her coffee. “All done.” She announces then sits down.

Amélie can see that sleep is gone from her face but there is not much improvement on the top of her head. “Those stand so naturally or?” She quirks an eyebrow.

Lena looks up after taking a sip of her tea, “What's that, luv?” She then sees what Amélie is looking at, “Oh, you mean my hair? Can't do a thing about that, so I just let them do their own thing,” she chuckles then lowers her cup. “So? Breakfast, then we take on the Shimadas?”

Amélie thinks for a second, “Ah, yes. They did challenge us yesterday, did they not?” She remembers Hanzo and Genji challenging them to sniping and sparring match. Sniping for Amélie and sparring for Lena.

A grin creeps up on Lena's face, “Sure did. Let's show 'em we are not to be messed with, 'kay?” She extends her arm over the table for a fist bump.

Amélie chuckles in return, “Shade showed you this?” and fist bumps with Lena.

Who laughs, “Yeah, it's cool. So I picked it up.” They finish their drinks then head to the cafeteria for some breakfast.

 

“Hey,” Genji calls as soon as they enter, “You two ready to lose today?” Hanzo rolls his eyes at his cocky brother. Zennyatta that sits with them would, if he could, probably do the same. “Underestimating your opponent is a sure way towards failure,” he comments on his pupil's attitude.

Amélie nods to Zen, “Wise words,” and adds, “You should heed them.” when he nods back.

“Yeah, Genji,” Lena chirps, “Get ready to get your arse kicked,” she says with the same cocky attitude that he had and now it's Amélies turn to roll her eyes. She just shrugs her shoulder when she and Zen look at each other prompting a chuckling sound from him. She and Lena grab their breakfast and sit a bit away from the trio.

Lena swallows a good chunk of food she just shoveled in her mouth, “Look, I know you can probably outshoot Hanzo, but got any tips against Genji? He scares me a bit.”

Before answering, Amélie finishes chewing and swallows her much smaller and more ladylike bite. “Just keep moving, chérie. He might have good reflexes but your blinking and recall give you an edge. And I think you trained with Shade just before I arrived. So use what he taught you,” she recalls Shade telling about the incident that happened a day before she arrived at the Watchpoint.

Lena's face lights up when she remembers something, “Oh, right. I could use that,” and she digs right back into her food.

“That?” Amélie wonders. And puts a small bite of toast and eggs in her mouth.

“Mhm.” Lena nods with a full mouth. Then swallows, “There's this trick with Slipstream Shade taught me.”

“You should be careful with that,” Amélie warns her. “It might be very useful, but is a double-edged sword.”

“You're right. I saw what happened after he used it,” Lena recalls the destruction that Shade’s burst caused.

“Yes, but that is not all that could happen, so please, chérie, be careful.” Amélie looks at her almost like a mother would look at her child and puts her free hand on Lena's.

“Don't really have a choice when you look at me like that, do I?” Lena responds to Amélie's plea. “Promise I'll be careful. Only gonna use it as last resort.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 22:  
> \-----“The cavalry,” her voice comes from his left, “Is”, now from his right. _‘Behind,’_ he thinks and turns to intercept her. “Not there,” she chirps from above him and attaches her bomb to the top of his head then blinks away to a safe distance-----


	20. Amélie and Lena vs the Shimadas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amélie and Hanzo have a sniping match. Lena and Genji have a brawl, but something happens as Lena wouldn't be Lena if she listened to others warnings. Even if it may cost her her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things finally settled down a bit irl for me so this might return to regular weekly posting. I am working on the side-stories as well so those will be completed by the end of the year. Shade Slipstream will continue on, as I haven't even scratched the surface yet on the ideas for it. As will Raven, but that one is getting a complete rewrite on a big chuck of already written part so there might be a bit of a delay. To compensate I am working on a whole new story that I might start posting in September, don't hold your breath though.

The duels began a mere hour later. While Hanzo and Amélie took live ammo as they won't be aiming at each other, Genji and Lena grabbed training bullets and shurikens. They weigh the same as real things but leave only paint marks on their target. 

After a short walk in complete silence, apart from nods and hums they gave to each other, Hanzo and Amélie walk into the long-range training area that was part but not attached to the Watchpoint. 

“Ladies first, I believe the expression goes in English,” Hanzo gestures towards the firing position. Amélie only nods in return and walks to it. After shouldering her rifle she does a quick check of the firing mechanism without the bullets. After she is satisfied with click noise that the triggering mechanism produced when the firing pin was released and struck an empty chamber, she pulls out her round magazine and in one well-versed move reloads and chambers the bullet.

“Stationary? Too easy,” she snorts, smirking. Makes one last correction in her sights and pulls the trigger. _‘Oh, I missed this,’_ she thinks when the Kiss cracks and a light recoil bumps her shoulder. The target dummy gains a bullet size hole in the center of its simulated head.

“Mmm,” Hanzo hums, “Well done,” he congratulates her on a well-executed shot. 

“Thank you,” she replies, still looking down range through her scope. Only after she puts the Kiss on Safe does it leave her shoulder and she turns to face him. Little gesture Shade taught her. She never locked it before. Didn’t need to.

“It will make people feel better,” she recalls him saying at the time, “Especially the military types.”

“Your turn, I believe,” she steps away from the firing position and gestures towards it.

Only nodding in return Hanzo walks towards it, bow moved from his shoulder to his hand. He aims at a fresh target and plucks the empty string, checking if it's still fully taut like he left it. “You are right,” he starts after he strung an arrow and pulled the bow all the way, “Stationary targets are too easy.” He releases the string and the arrow sails through the air, hitting the target in the same spot Amélie's bullet did on the previous target.

“Magnifique,” Amélie says when Hanzo lowered his bow. “Good thing you did not join Talon when we offered. Would hate it to have such competition,” she jokes, getting a chuckle out of the bowman.

They exchange positions on the firing spot until they have both taken 10 shots. Amélie wins due to one of Hanzo arrows going ever so slightly off target. 

“Hmm,” Hanzo hums, storing the last arrow back in his quiver and walks to waiting Amélie. “I believe congratulations are in order,” he offers a handshake.

“Thank you,” she takes him up on his offer, “It was quite a welcome challenge.” _‘And a long overdue practice,’_ she thought, her trigger finger twitching a bit after the handshake was over. “Would you like to join me at observing Lena and your brother?” she suggests, gesturing towards the Watchpoint.

“I would, yes,” he answers with a nod and they walk towards it in the same silence that surrounded them when they came here.

 

The match between Tracer and Genji was controlled chaos at best. As soon as Athena announced the start both of them charge at each other as if somebody unleashed rabid beasts off their chains. 

“Catch this,” Genji opens with a line of three shurikens aimed at Tracers head.

“Too slow,” she chirps and shoots all three out of the air and blinks to the side.

“You thought that will hit me?” Genji smirks when he jumps backwards to avoid a spray from Tracers pistols, keeping her in his sight.

“Nope,” she chuckles, then blinks behind his back, “But it got you to stop moving,” and draws a line of paint across his back.

_‘She got faster,’_ he thinks while rolling forward, jolting upright, turning on the spot to face her and readies his blade to deflect any fire that might be coming his way.

But she doesn’t move from the spot she blinked at to shoot at his back. Only bounces on her feet a few times, smiling at him.

_‘Is she teasing him,’_ he wonders then lowers his stance, getting ready for another charge. And charges. Only this time he doesn’t throw his shurikens. 

Tracer doesn’t move, only gives him a two finger salute, “Cheers, luv.” A moment before he is in striking distance, she blinks away, “The cavalry,” her voice comes from his left, “Is”, now from his right. _‘Behind,’_ he thinks and turns to intercept her. “Not there,” she chirps from above him and attaches her pulse bomb to the top of his head then blinks away to a safe distance. It explodes, repainting him all the way to his torso in green.

“What’s wrong, luv? Were you always this slow?” she asks, sitting cross-legged on a hood of a car.

Wiping the paint off of his visor, “It would seem that I don’t need to hold back anymore,” he turns to look at her.

“Aw, no fair,” Tracer mocks being wounded, “You were holding back?” she asks and jumps to her feet. 

“Come on,” he challenges her, taking his stance. One hand on his wakizashi, the other teasing her with two fingers.

“Hm,” she shrugs, pistols in hand. And dashes towards him opening fire as she goes. 

“Too easy,” Genji grins under his mask and starts deflecting.

_‘Right on time,’_ Tracer thinks, timing her blinks so that the deflected bullets miss her and she is right in Genji's face when he stops. She pulls the trigger but only an empty click can be heard. “Blimey,” she curses looking at her pistols. “Let’s try this again,” she smiles when her sight moves from her pistols to Genji and Recalls.

“Not if I can help it,” he growls, angry that she got a drop on him twice already and dashes to where she will come out of her Recall. His timing is nearly perfect and his fist digs into her unprepared stomach, making her exhale with a grunt and is sent flying into the very hood she was just sitting on. The force of his punch was big enough that she bounced off and rolled over the car and fell behind it. Thinking he knock her out, he walks around it to check on her but finds nothing besides dust and dirt, barely disturbed at best.

“Nice punch there, luv,” her voice comes from his left and above and when he turns to face her, he can see her walking on the balcony fence. “Too bad I learned a few new tricks,” she smiles at him, “Well, bad for you. Great for me,” she shrugs and lowers to crouching position, balancing on the narrow fence with ease.

Genji’s eyes narrow beneath his mask and he reaches for his katana. That gets her attention.

“Oh shit, dragon time?” her eyes go wide beneath her goggles and she jumps upright, pistol aimed at him. 

And just like she thought, a half transparent green dragon emerges from his shoulder, coils around his arm and readied katana. Its opened maw on the tip of it.

"Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!", Genji shouts, and charges towards her.

_‘C’mon Tracer, you are faster than this,’_ she encourages herself, despite every fiber of her body screaming at her to turn and run for it. She clenches her teeth, _‘Hooold,’_ she tries to hold off her blinking to the last possible moment. Genji’s katana almost touches her anchor when she does blink away, but she underestimated his speed and only blinked behind his back.

“Got you,” he shouts and swings, turning his blade so that he hits her with its top and not the sharp edge. That way, it didn’t slice her but she will definitely feel the impact.

“Cheeky git,” she grunts from pain when she is launched by the force of it from the balcony towards the ground.

Genji lands on the very railing she was on and sees her flipping him the bird when her eyes roll into her head when the impact when she smashed into the roof of the car knocked her out. Cars windows exploded outwards. He quickly scans her with his inbuilt scanner and sighs in relief that her vitals are, apart from being unconscious, normal. “You are a hundred years too early to beat me,” he smiles, sheathing the katana then jumps off the balcony back to the street and starts walking towards the exit of the arena.

“Now you've done it, luv.” Tracer says with a cackle Genji can't say he ever heard coming from her. He turns his head to look and what he sees makes him take a defensive stance the next moment. Tracer blinks upright from the caved in roof to the hood of the car. Wiping the blood from the cuts on her chin with her hand she grins. Her eyes are crimson red. The blue light of her anchor was replaced with a red one too. “Damn it,” she curses, popping her shoulders and neck, “Is she in a war zone or something?” she grunts when they radiate pain. Then she pulls out her pistol, aims at the nearby building and pulls the trigger, “Paint? Where’s the fun in that?” Putting the pistol back in its holster, she cracks her knuckles, “Damn it feels good to have a solid body again,” she exhales, then finally notices Genji just down the street. “Sorry, luv. Did I keep you waiting?” she grins and lowers herself in a sprinter like stance. “Don't worry. Your wait is over,” then she blinks right in his face, sending an uppercut in his jaw before he could react in any way. “As is your life,” she sneers blinking above him as he was sent flying by her punch and roundhouse kicks him into the ground, his armor cracking from the force behind her kick. She lands right next to him and grabs him by his neck, lifting him upright. Genji punches her stomach with everything he has left. “Uf,” she grunts but that's it, her hold on his neck not losing any strength. “Still got some fight in you, don't you?” she lifts him higher, “Not for long.” Using blinking with only her arm she sends a series of super fast punches in his stomach. Armor there breaks and starts falling off. She then throws him in the air and winds another roundhouse kick that hits him into his exposed body. The force of it sends him flying into the nearby building that he hits so hard that the wall breaks.

 

“Oh no.” Amélie exhales when she and Hanzo arrive in the observation deck just in time to see the light on Tracers anchor change from blue to red and she blinks upright.

“What is going on?” Hanzo says, worried when Tracer demolishes Genji and is lifting him up by his neck.

“No time to explain.” Amélie looks at him. “Only Shade can help now. Athena…” She calls for the AI just as Winston enters the room. A loud noise is heard from the arena and he moves to look.

“What is going on here?” He repeats Hanzo's question.

Amélie shakes her head, “Athena, call for Shade. Now!” she almost shouts her request when she also looks at the arena and sees Tracer? closing in on trapped Genji.

“On it,” she responds from the speakers.

“Why is her anchor red?” Winston asks Amélie as she seems to know what's going on.

“I do not know for certain either. But it is connected to Slipstream.” Amélie tells him. “The way Shade explained it, is that Slipstream connects not only our reality or timeline but all the other possible ones too,” she tries to explain.

“Parallel worlds. Infinite possible timelines. And Slipstream connected them all,” Winston nods. His scientific mind already connecting dots. “But that still doesn't explain the change in color,” he looks at Amélie again.

“Shade told me once that he saw somebody in there. Somebody that looked exactly like him.” Amélie starts to explain, “And they had a tug of war of wills, he called it an-” but gets interrupted by a shout from the arena.

“Lena. That's enough.” Shade roars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 21:  
> \-----He presses her against the wall, “My teammates, yes,” he leans closer and growls, “You, no.”-----


	21. Lena Oxton?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Lena gets a beating of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. This took a while to update. I blame the 4th story that is keeping all my brain RAM full all the time.

“Agent Slipstream, report to Close Combat Training Room.” Athena repeats her call that can be heard through the entire Watchpoint.

Shade looks at the ceiling of the cafeteria, “What is it, Athena?” 

“You will see for yourself,” Athena responds, “But please, hurry.” She pleads. “I am opening all the doors from your location to there right now,” Doors slide open.

‘ _This must be urgent,_ ’ Shade thinks. And not wasting another second he first walks to clear the tables then in a flash of red light, he is gone.

What he sees when he arrives makes his eyes go wide, “Holy crap,” he curses. Genji is lying in a heap of rubble that is all that remained of one of the building's walls. Half of his body buried beneath. The visible cyborg parts are shooting out sparks and some liquid is leaking from some of them too. That wouldn't be so strange if it wasn't for his opponent. One that is looking down at him, winding her arm again.

“Lena. That's enough,” Shade roars. And when she turns around, he can see the full reason for Genji’s state. He already saw the disc on her back glowing red instead of blue. Now he sees that her eyes turned to the same color too.

“Heya Shade,” she greets him back with a grin, “Hold on just a mo’.” She then turns her attention back to the already beaten ninja, “I’ll be right with ya once I finish this one off.”

“I said…” Shade is next to them in a blink and firmly grabs Lena’s accelerator straps on her shoulder, “that’s enough.” He pulls her off the ninja and throws her tumbling across the street. “You okay?” he looks at the battered ninja.

“I’ll live,” Genji responds. His breathing ragged and taxed. “Help her,” he flicks his head in Lena’s direction.

Shade scowls and slowly turns towards the Brit, “Gonna do just that,” popping his neck and shoulders. He cracks his knuckles next and slowly walks towards her. 

Still reeling from being thrown so far, she slowly gets back on her feet. “Hehe,” her grin is back and she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “I guess, I’ll dea-UFFF!” She grunts when Shade doesn’t give her time to finish that. He blinked to close the distance in an instant then dug his leg into her stomach, sending her flying into a wall of the nearby building. She spots his fist just in time to put up her arms for a block. ‘ _Shit. Right, Syvatogor,_ ’ she recalls Amélie saying that Shade could take that giant down with his bare hands when the bones on her forearms creak. They break from the impact a moment later. “Fuuuuuck!” She screams when her broken arms flop downwards limply. “Hey! What gives?” she stares at Shades face, his hand shooting out to grab the front part of her accelerator. Face twisted in a furious scowl, he stares right back. “Didn’t you say that you protect your teammates?” she hisses through her clenched teeth, barely enduring the pain.

He presses her against the wall, “My teammates, yes,” he leans closer and growls, “You, no.”

“You figured it out, didn’t you?” She manages to smirk through the pain. They are close enough to each other that no one else can hear them.

“I did,” he nods. “Now. I’ll ask nicely just one more time. That’s enough.” Shade repeats his request.

“If this is you asking nicely,” she responds, smiling wickedly, “I just might like it when you get rough.” In response, Shade starts tightening his grip on the accelerator and the metal casing starts squealing, as it bends under the pressure.

Looking down at it, “No, no, no, no!” she shakes her head furiously. Fear starting to show for the first time in her red eyes. Looking back at Shade, she begs, “Anything but this. Please.”

“Then leave,” Shade commands with a stern voice. He stops tightening his grip and changes his tone into a more calming one, “It’s not ready yet.”

“When then, Shade?” she asks as tears start rolling down her cheeks. “Tell me, WHEN?” She screams the last word.

“Don’t know,” he shakes his head, “But now that I know you are here. I’ll try to speed it up.” He says, now looking at the woman who probably spent a lot of time in that blue timeless hell with kindness.

“Promise?” she asks, sniffling. All will to fight gone from her.

“Yes,” Shade nods firmly, “Promise.” 

“’Kay then. See you.” She slowly closes her eyes. The light beneath Shades hand turns back to familiar blue. Not a second after he lets go of it, Lena’s eyes flutter open. But the pain from the beating she just received and exhaustion from pushing her body beyond its limits hits her all at once and her eyes just roll into her head and she starts falling to the ground as if someone cut her strings.

“I got you,” Shade leans in and catches her. Then gently lifts her battered body in his arms. “Athena open the doors to the med bay and get Angela there. Please.'' He pleads, looking at the ceiling.

Athena responds almost immediately, “Done.” But just before he can blink away, a loud thud is heard and felt from behind him and he turns to look. It’s Winston. And he is standing upright. His fur bristling, barely holding back his rage. “I’ll take care of her,” Shade says calmly and matches Winstons stare with his own. “You see to the ninja there,” he gestures towards the still half buried Genji.

Winston drops down on all fours, “Will she be alright?”

“I’ll make absolutely sure that she is,” Shade nods. Not waiting for his response he blinks all the way to the med bay.

 

“Mein got,” Angela exhales when she sees the state Lena is in, still cradled in Shade’s arms. She gestures towards one of the beds, asking “What happened?”

“No time to explain,” Shade doesn’t answer, only lowers Lena into the bed. “Heal her,” he almost commands, “while she is still out,” he adds with a gentler tone of voice. Angela, not wasting any time, grabs her Caduceus and gets right on it. Lena’s face twist in pain when the nanobots go to work. Knitting her bones and probably some internal organs back together. Takes a few minutes, but Angela is a master of her craft. Once done she turns off her staff, “All done.” Boosted regeneration clearly took its toll on her and she leans on it. Shade, seeing that, jumps in to support her. Angela looks at him and thanks him with a nod and a smile. He returns the gesture. “I’m fine now,” Angela says when she sees Shade looking at Lena that is still out like a light on the bed. 

Releasing Angela, he walks next to the bed and takes one of Lena's hands in his, “Will she be okay?” he asks without turning, gently caressing Lena's hand. 

Angela walks closer and puts her arm on Shades shoulder, “She will be just fine.''

Just as Shade nods in response, doors open and a heavy stomping can be heard closing in on them. Shade releases Lena’s hand and standing up, he prepares for what he knows is coming. And it hits him right away. Emily’s hand wallops him on his right cheek with a loud crack as she yells in his face, “Why would you do this to her?” her face matching her red hair from anger.

Shade lowers his head, “I’m sorry. But I had to. To bring her back.”

Emily won’t hear any of it, “Get out! Now!” And tries to chase him out, but a weak voice suddenly calls from behind and below them. “Em, no. Let him stay.” When they turn around they see Lena’s eyes fluttering open and her shaking arm reaching towards them. Emily, pushing Shade out of the way, leaps in and grabs it. “But why?” She asks, caressing her lover's hand. “He just beat you to the brink of death,” tears well in her eyes.

Lena weakly shakes her head, “No. He saved me. Again.” Her sight moves from Emily to Shade and back to her girlfriend again.

“Always speedy, always,” he smiles. “Us Slipstreamers need to stick together,” he winks at Lena, prompting a small chuckle out of her. “I won’t explain anything now,” he says when he reads the question from Lena’s face then turns to leave. He waves back over his shoulder, “You’re in good hands now. I go something to take care of.” And is out the door a moment later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 22:
> 
> \-----Brigitte who saw him just before he went out to the balcony follows him. "Hey Shade," she calls out. Then she sees him starting to flutter in and out of existence. She starts to run towards him, "Noooo! Shaaaade!" Stretching her arm to grab his shoulder she only manages to grab air.-----


	22. Shade enters Slipstream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shade enters the timeless Slipstream to look for that other Lena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while to update as other stories I'm also working on kinda kept my head full, but quite a decent amount is written so I might be good a for few once per week updates with this one.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” he curses while wraithing along the hallway. Completely oblivious to a worried looking Fareeha and Aleks he passed on his way. “It’s too damn soon,” he mutters when the door that leads to a balcony open. He sits down on the edge of it, “Fuck it. Change of plans then.” And he concentrates, closing his eyes, shutting the real world out. 

Brigitte who saw him just before he went out to the balcony follows him. “Hey Shade,” she calls out. Then she sees him starting to flutter in and out of existence. She starts to run towards him, “Noooo! Shaaaade!” stretching her arm to grab his shoulder she only manages to grab air. No wasting a second she turns around and runs back in. ‘ _Who would know anything_ ,’ she thinks while running through the hallway. Tools on her tool belt clattering as they bounce around. “Right. Amélie,” she remembers and turns the corner to head towards their room. Barely dodging Jesse as she did, “Sorry. No time!” she shouts back an apology, still running at full speed. She spots the right door, “There it is,” then trips and rolls right past it. The tools clattering loudly as they hit the floor, “Auch.”

Amélie hears the commotion, “What is going on out there?” and stand up from the table. Putting the book, she was reading down on it, she walks to the doors and opens them. “Brigitte?” she sees her picking herself up and walks closer to offer a hand to pull her off the ground. Brigitte grabs it and when she upright, her hands shoot on Amélies shoulders. Looking straight into her yellow eyes, “Shade is gone again.” Her voice shakes and tears start welling in her eyes.

Amélie tilts her head, “What do you mean, gone?”

“I mean gone,” tears start to flow, “back to Slipstream.”

Amélie looks diagonally upwards and thinks for a second. “Hm…” She looks back at Brigitte, “I think I might know what you are talking about,” she slowly removes Brigitte's arms from her shoulder and holds on to one. “Let’s go inside,” she gently tugs on the arm she is holding, prompting Brigitte to follow her in her and Shade’s room. Once inside and the doors close behind them, “Go take a sit. I’ll make some coffee.” She instructs the visibly shaken mechanic.

Brigitte sits down and notices the book. “The hitchhiker’s guide to the Slipstream,” She read the title out loud. “Which idiot wrote this?” she grunts. ‘I lost a lover to it,’ she thinks as anger starts to simmer in the back of her head.

Amélie chuckles as she pours the second cup, “The same idiot,” she turns around, cups in hand, “that you are worried about.” She walks to the table. Puts one of the cups in front of Brigitte then takes a sit too.

Brigitte, picking it up, looks at Amélie, “What? Shade wrote this?” Amélie only nods in return and sips on her coffee. Brigitte follows, “Anyway. He is gone again,” she looks down, sadness returning on her face.

“Tell me,” Amélie asks with a calm voice, “what happened.”

“What do you think?” Brigitte almost sounds angry. “One moment he is sitting on the edge of the balcony, the next he is gone into thin air.”

“Ah.” Amélie exhales, takes another sip, then continues. “Then we have nothing to worry about. He will be back.”

Brigitte leans forward so fast she nearly spills her coffee, “He’ll be back? When?”

Amélie shrugs, “No idea. But longest he was gone so far was one full day.” There is a knock on the door as soon as she finishes. “Come in,” she calls towards the doors. And when they open, she and Brigitte see a worried looking Emily standing there. When she doesn’t move Amélie stands up, “Come in. Want some coffee?” and repeats her invitation.

Emily walks in and when the doors close behind her, “I would like some, yes.”

“D’accord.” Amélie nods, “Take a sit,” then gestures towards the table, “I will bring you some.” Then walks back to the coffee machine to pour another cup for her new guest.

Emily takes a sit, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she looks at Amélie that put a cup in front of her.

“Non,” she shakes her head and takes a sit, “You are probably here for the same selfish idiot she is,” she adds, while gesturing towards Brigitte. That causes them all to chuckle.

Emily nods, “Yes. I wanted to apologize for slapping him. After Lena explained what happened to her.” The other two silently ask her to continue. “She apparently trained with Genji. Then mid-way she tried to use the trick Shade taught her. Using Slipstream for something, but something went wrong and somebody took over her body. And almost beat the soul out of Genji.”

“Her accelerator changed color?” Amélie asks.

Emily goes wide-eyed and locks eyes with her, “Yes,” she nods. “How did you know?”

 

While the ladies chat about a certain idiot, he is floating inside a timeless realm called Slipstream. One can easily get lost in here. But Shade figured out that if you keep one focusing thought, you can somewhat control where you go. And it doesn't take him long to find what he came for. She is just standing there, but as if to oppose the surrounding blue she has a red glow about her. 

“Hey.” He calls out.

She turns to face him, “Heya. That was fast. Or not. I lose track of time in here almost immediately.”

“Still the same day out there. I think,” he answers, not really sure anymore. He doesn’t want anyone to be stuck in here for long and she looks like she has been here for quite a while longer he wants to know.

After thinking for a second she nods, “Okay.” Her red eyes focus on him, “Now what?”

He walks closer, “Now I get you out of here within a week.”

“A week?” She wonders. Time is not really a thing in here.

“Yep,” he nods. “That’s how long its gonna take me to assemble the accelerator for you.”

“For me? Why?”

He chuckles, “Honest answer because you can be useful to me.” She smirks at that. “A better answer, because we Slipstreamers need to stick together.” 

“Might as well. Then what?”

“Then you come out of this hell. After that, it’s up to you,” he answers with a shrug. “Would like it if you could join my team,” he suggests.

“Out where?”

“My world. Where you just were. Though you forced your way in.”

“You sure your world is ready for this Lena?” She asks with a grin.

“We’ll make it ready. But another Lena Tracer Oxton will make all sorts of legal issues.”

“Different name then?”

“How does Linn Oxton sound?”

She laughs at his naming sense, “You’re terrible. And the callsign?”

“I know,” he joins her. “Rogue.”

“That, I like,” she grins again. “So, Linn Rogue Oxton.” She repeats the whole name as if to hear how it sounds.

“Okay.” He nods then turns to leave. “That’s settled then. I’m off then.”

But she stops him, “Wait just a tick, will ya? How will I know that just a week passed out there?”

“Oh, right,” his eyes go a bit wider as if he just remembered that. “How ‘bout I drop by every day for a quick chat?” he suggests.

“That will do,” she responds with a smile.

“Great. See ya tomorrow,” he waves over his shoulder after he turned and started to walk away.

“Thanks, Shade,” she calls after him.

“Don’t mention it. Least I can do.” And he lets the accelerator do its job of pulling him back into his stable form in the real time. Air still cracks a bit from static when he forms up back on the balcony. “Brrr. Still, hate how this part feels.” A shiver runs down his spine when his last molecule is pulled into place. He stands up and starts heading inside. “A week huh? Better get down to business right away then,” he thinks out loud and walks through the door. 

When he reached his room he opens the doors. “Hey sweety, I ne-” he starts to greet Amélie but stops when three heads turn to look at him. He furrows his brow, “Hello?”

Brigitte leaps out of her chair and hugs him after taking just one large leap towards him. Not saying anything she just squeezes her hug and starts to quietly sob in his shoulder. Returning her hug, he looks over hers towards Amélie.

She gently smiles, “She saw you disappear on the balcony. Got scared you are lost to Slipstream again,” she explains.

Caressing Brigitte's back, he apologizes, “Sorry for scaring you.” 

Lifting her head off his shoulder, she shakes it, “It’s okay. For as long as you’re back.”

Wiping her tears with his thumb, he then lifts his arm to show her the glowing line running along it. “Unless this thing runs out of juice, I’m sticking around,” he explains with a wink. 

A smile shows up on Brigitte's face. She releases him and they both walk to the table and sit down. Shade refuses Amélies offer for coffee then turn towards Emily. “Shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend? I’m sure she could use the company.”

Taking a sip of coffee, she answers. “She is sleeping. And I came to apologize for that slap I gave you.”

He laughs waving her off, “That little pat?” Pointing first to Amélie then to Brigitte, “These two both gave me a fair share of those and both hit harder.” They all laugh at that. ''

“Deserved every single one,” Brigitte is first to comment. 

Amélie follows with a nod, “Quite so.”

After chatting for another minute Shade stands up. “Anyway. Got something really urgent to do, so I gotta go.”

Amélie tilts her head, “Urgent? How long will you be away?”

“Yes, it’s somewhat urgent,” He nods firmly then after thinking for a few moments, “Shouldn’t take me longer than a week though.”

Hearing how Amélie phrased her question, Brigitte asks one herself. “Away? You leaving Watchpoint?”

Shade responds, nodding. “Yep,” noticing her worried look, he smiles gently and adds, “Promise I’m coming back.”

Knowing for a fact that Shade never goes back on his word. Not now, not before when she knew him as Sean, Brigitte visibly relaxes, “Will hold you to that. Now go, knock ‘em dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 23:
> 
> \-----“Ooooh, Wiiinston!” A chuckle escapes Shade when he can hear Athena’s call, making a perfect imitation of Lena's voice. 
> 
> “For the last tim-” Winston starts but when he can’t spot Lena anywhere in his lab, he looks ups towards the ceiling, “Athena was that you?”-----


	23. Shade returns to château Guillard

“Will do,” he waves over his shoulder and leaves the room. Not noticing there is someone standing just outside, he nearly bumps into her when he turns after the doors close behind him. “Hey, there speedy. What’s up?” She just hugs him. Not saying a word. “O…kay?” He wraps his arms around her and releases after squeezing her lightly. She lets go too. 

She looks up at him, “Save her please.” and pleads, putting an arm on her front piece of the accelerator. Looking down on it for a second then looks back at Shade.

He smiles and scruffs her hair a bit, “That’s the plan.” He shoots her a wink.

She hums with a face wide smile, nodding. 

“Emily and Brigitte are having coffee in there,” Shade points towards the door he just came out from with his thumb over his shoulder, “Go and join ‘em. I’m sure Emily will be happy to see that you are up and about.” He walks around her and starts making his way towards the landing pad 5. He stops after a few steps, “Hey Lena!” he calls after her, already halfway through the doors.

“Hm?” She leans outside, holding the doorframe for support.

“No Slipstreaming while I’m gone, ‘kay?” he tells her.

“Gotcha.” She gives him a thumbs up and enters the room.

He rolls his eyes with a chuckle and turns back towards the direction he was heading towards. He is in the air 10 minutes later, blasting the Hornets engines to the max. Destination: Château Guillard. The planes coms beep when he turns them on, “Athena, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear Agent Slipstream.” The AI responds.

“Perfect. Could you be a dear and connect me to Winston please?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Should I?” Athena gets cheeky and Shade would bet good money that if she could, she would have a face-wide grin right now.

“Pretty please? Since I asked nicely?” He pleads again with a purring voice.

“Ooooh, Wiiinston!” A chuckle escapes Shade when he can hear Athena’s call, making a perfect imitation of Lena’s voice. 

“For the last tim-” Winston starts but when he can’t spot Lena anywhere in his lab, he looks ups towards the ceiling, “Athena was that you?”

“Right-o.” She responds then adds, “Agent Slipstream is asking me to connect you to him.”

“Okay.” Winston agrees, wondering what could Shade want from him. “Hello, Shade.” He greets him when the line beeps, indicating that Athena connected the two lines.

“Hey, Winston.” He greets him back and gets straight to business. “I need your schematics for the chronal accelerator.”

“Huh?” Winston's eyes widen, Shades request surprising him. “I thought you have a perfectly functioning one already. And I just checked Lena’s and that one is working fine too.” He voices his thoughts.

“Please trust me on this one,” Shade asks, then explains. “I can’t tell you for who it is, but she needs it. And when I’m done, I’m deleting all the data permanently so you will have the only copy again.”

“I don't know. This is a very powerful piece of technology and in the wrongs hands...” Winston hesitates.

Shade thinks for a second the remembers something, “Lena asked me to save her as well. So if you can't trust me, can you trust Lena?”

“That’s not fair,” Winston grumbles.

“I rarely play fair.” Shade grins.

“I noticed. Sending over the data. But I must ask that you allow Athena to oversee what you do with it.” Winston agrees but puts a condition in place.

“No problem with that. But I will ask her not to report until I’m done unless it’s something that can threaten you guys.” Shade also agrees and puts a condition of his own in too.

“Agreed.” Winston nods and sends over the files containing the schematics for the accelerator.

“Got ‘em.” Shade confirms receiving the files. “Thank you and see you in a week. Bye.” And cuts the line after saying his goodbyes. “Athena?” He checks if the AI is still present.

“Yes, Agent Slipstream?”

“You heard all that?”

“I did. And will uphold the agreement. Monitor only. Report only after you are done or if I detect that the files are being used in such a way that could threaten the team.” She repeats the deal between Shade and Winston.

“ _Perfect._ Talk to you later.” Shade barrel-rolls then hit the boosters and breaks the sound barrier. He was just about to reach the sky above the lake surrounding the château Guillard when his IFF(Identify Friend Foe) alarm goes off. “Heh.” He chuckles when the system ID's the unknown soldiers that are closing on the château from all direction. ‘Barely been a day and the vermin is already trying to move in’ he thinks while starting to circle above them like raptor circles above its prey. “Athena you here?” He calls for the AI.

“I am.” She responds.

“Could you take over the control of the châteaus defense system and give me a hand at removing the pests?” Shade asks her with a grin.

“Scanning now.” She responds. And after a few moments, “Oh, Agent Slipstream. Now you are just spoiling me aren’t you?” She chirps with a cheery tone of voice when her scan shows her multiple twin-minigun turrets with heat sensors, a couple of torpedo launchers and multi-launch guided missile anti-air platform.

“Man’s gotta spoil his friends every once in a while,” Shade responds, laughing. He maneuvers his own stealthed plane near the building. “Hornet, provide aerial support and engage and destroy any hostile air target.” He tells the onboard VI then jumps out and runs towards the armory. As he makes his way towards the armory he can hear the miniguns open on the Talon forces and several explosions that come from above. “La perfomance est sur le point de commencer.” He says the verbal password that unlocks the armory and picks his favorite weapon. An anti-material rifle that is capable of long-range sniping fire and a close to medium range full automatic fire. The only difference from Amélie’s Kiss is in its caliber and ammo it uses. Caliber is twice of Kisse’s and the bullets contain a small explosive charge that can be set to detonate on contact or once they enter their target. That kind of ammo is banned all over the world but Shade doesn't really give two fucks what’s legal and what’s not when it comes to killing Talon. Appropriately dubbed Excalibur, the dragon slayer, the rifle was a beast in its own right and in Shades hands its lethality only increased. He ran back out just in time for the second wave of attacks to start and Hornet already fired its missiles on one of the troop transports, blowing off its engines with one and destroying the rest with the second one. Miniguns all around the château opened up and in seconds several of hovercraft landing ships had more holes in them than swiss cheese. ‘ _One can’t keep a boat afloat when its full of holes._ ’ Shade thought, grinning wickedly as he watched them sink beneath the lake's surface. “Hey, leave some for me too.” He snickers over the coms kneels on one knee and shoulders his weapon. He takes aim at one of the approaching fast boats and when he fired the whole thing nearly split in half. “Ups. I guess I had anti-armor loaded since the last job.” He laughs. 

“You got to get me one of those.” Athena sounds over the coms.

“Didn’t know you enjoyed killing so much?” Shade responds.

“I am merely protecting your property.” Athena defends.

“Sure.” Shade smirks then asked, “How many left?”

“Wait for it,” she delays answering and Shade can first hear then see a large explosion caused by a destruction of the last of troop transport, last aerial target taken out by Hornet.

“No hostile aerial targets detected. Requesting permission to return to base.”, its droning voice comes over the comms.

“Permission granted. Resupply and stand by for further orders,” Shade answers, standing up and shoulders his weapon.

“Acknowledged.” the VI responds and heads for the small landing pad behind the château.

“That is it.” Athena, that waited until the exchange between Shade and Hornets VI finished, answers Shades question.

“Great job,” Shade compliments her. “Any chance you could reload the guns and launchers?” he asks her, walking inside to store Excalibur back in the armory.

“Already in progress. You mind if I calibrate and do some basic maintenance on them too?”

“Not at all,” Shade stores the weapon back on its rack and closes the armory doors that click when the locks reengage. “Just make sure that a human can still aim them properly,” he requests and walks upstairs then heads towards the workshop to start working in Linn’s accelerator. 

“That won’t be needed,” Athena denies his request.

“What? Why not?” he stops just outside the workshop.

“Because I installed a VI that will do it for you. I also send a shutdown code to your computer in case it goes haywire,” she explains then adds, “I dubbed it Ares, after the Greek god of war. Seemed appropriate.” ‘ _Did she just giggled?_ ’ Shade thinks after hearing something similar to it at the end of her sentence.

“You are one cheeky AI, aren’t you?” he voices his thoughts and enters the workshop.

“I was called as such on many occasions by Winston too. Though he used different words,” ‘ _Now that was definitely a laugh,_ ’ Shade smirks and walks to the workbench and opens the schematics for the accelerator, “Time to get to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneak peek into chapter 24:   
> \-----  
> Despite being startled, the first thought she forms is, ‘He is here.’ She turns to look at him but then remembers she was trying to figure something out. “Shit.”, she curses when she sees that the scene is gone.
> 
> “Bad timing?” he asks, walking closer.  
> \-----


End file.
